


Looming Twilight

by Midlstrit



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, I dont know how to tag, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, Other, Panic Attacks, implications of abuse, probably, screwing with lore because sometimes its way too confusing, the archive warning will come into play later on, this is gonna get dark kiddies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2019-10-05 11:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17324381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midlstrit/pseuds/Midlstrit
Summary: Over ten years after the second Keyblade War, everything has been relatively calm. The young Masters have survived crisis after crisis and have come out triumphant. Now, they face an even bigger challenge than before. One that no amount of sparring or training could prepare them for.Students.





	1. Meeting Lunam

 

Sora was sure this all started when Riku chose a student.

It made sense at this time. They had been in a long state of peace at the castle. Everyone was in their prime and a comfortable routine had settled. Sora was getting restless with the lack of substantial action. But at the same time, he was glad that there was no worlds-ending crisis happening.

So, King Mickey asked Riku if he wanted to take on a student. He was more than qualified for the job and had a substantial amount of experience for his age. After panicking over the idea, Riku talked to Terra about it and finally agreed. Sora shrieked in delight and excitement at the idea of a new member joining their little family and begged to help with whatever lessons Riku had planned out.

After about a week of planning and getting the castle set up for an extra resident, Riku finally went out to look for someone. Aqua, who was the most knowledgeable in this endeavor, told Riku that there were two ways he could find a student. The most common was passing down the power to someone and waiting for it to manifest. The other, most rare case, was finding a child who had been blessed with a Keyblade naturally.

He came back a few hours later with someone trailing behind him. Sora was grinning madly and was about to leap forward before he saw the child properly.

They were a boy of about fourteen, and he was covered in bruises. He all but hid behind Riku as they stepped up to the castle stairs. Sora’s smile withered as he looked at the child’s downcast expression and tense posture. Riku’s jacket was draped around his shoulders, covering up a worn white shirt.

He stood upright and put a smile back on his face. This time, it wasn’t as mindlessly cheerful. 

Sora skittered down the steps to meet them in the courtyard. Riku and the boy looked up as he approached, and the former smiled in greeting.

“Hey there!” Sora called softly. He kept his voice low to make sure he didn’t startle the boy. “This is your new student, Riku?”

His friend nodded and set his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Sora noticed the child stiffen for just a moment before relaxing under the touch. 

“This is my friend, Sora.” Riku said gently. “Do you wanna introduce yourself?”

The boy looked up at Sora. His silver eyes studied the master’s face carefully. Sora kept up his welcoming expression patiently as the boy judged him. He also took the time to assess the bruises and scrapes before him. An ugly purple mark sat on the boy’s cheek. Dirt was smudged under his eyes as if he had been wiping away tears. Sora drew his own conclusion with a grim feeling.

“...My name’s Lunam,” the boy finally said.

Sora smiled wider. “It’s great to meet you, Lunam! Everyone’s been really eager to meet you. Let’s go inside and get you settled in.”

Sora chattered happily as they made their way inside. Riku was the only one that actually replied to some of what he said, but he also seemed content with letting Sora fill the silence. 

They found their way to the sitting room soon enough, and Sora proudly announced that Riku had returned successfully. Everyone in the room at the time (Aqua, Ventus, and Roxas) jumped in surprise and gleefully welcomed Lunam. Sora declared loudly that he was going to tell everyone else then darted off to do just that.

After many,  _ many _ introductions, Riku showed Lunam to his new room and let him settle in a bit. Only then did Sora drop his smile and pull Riku aside to ask how Lunam got those bruises.

Riku looked around the empty hallway for a moment before dragging Sora into the nearest closed room (which happened to be a storage closet). He shut the door and flipped on the switch to give them light.

Sora immediately noticed the dark look on his friend’s face and the dimmed gleam in his eye. He only got that particular expression when they talked about really bad things.

His fellow Master leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “The marks aren’t from anyone I’ve come across. If I had, then he wouldn’t have them.”

Sora’s brows furrowed deeply. He kept silent and allowed Riku to keep talking.

“I was drawn to one of the modern worlds. After landing, I followed this…  _ spark _ to a back street corner. There, I found Lunam sitting just inside the shadows of an alley. He was crying and curled up in a ball. When I approached, he looked terrified and almost went for a shard of glass to fight me off. He only relaxed when I explained I wasn’t going to hurt him and showed that I was unarmed.”

That was objectively false. Even without their Keyblades, everyone carried more than a few weapons hidden around their person. Sora, personally, had a dagger on his belt when he went into the field and another hidden in his boot. If he was feeling nervous, he’d bring a couple more. Riku must’ve lied about not having at  _ least _ his pocket knife.

“I sat down a few feet away and just started talking to him. I asked where he got the bruises from and if he needed medical attention. He denied telling me where they came from and said that he didn’t need any help. After a couple hours of conversation, I gathered the basics of his story.”

Riku took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His posture stiffened uncomfortably.

Sora learned that Lunam… didn’t have an easy life. The boy’s mother had left when he was still too young to remember her face. His father struggled to provide for the two of them, and Lunam had suffered because of it. The school he went to was less than ideal. There, the school counselor had taken him under her wing and provided for him when his father neglected to.

But two weeks prior to Riku arriving, she died in a car accident. Since then, Lunam had been forced to go home more. The injuries were a result of that. Riku offered him a Keyblade - telling Lunam the pros and cons of accepting. Apparently he didn’t even hesitate.

Sora stayed silent as his friend explained. His heart twisted as Riku delved into some of his own theories. A lot was left unsaid, but most of it didn’t need to be talked about. Just the passed glances and restlessness in the air was enough. 

Sora made a silent vow to make sure Lunam never felt alone or unsafe ever again. With renewed determination (and the conversation having ended,) Sora marched out of the storage closet and right to his own room. Riku followed unsurely.

He dug around the piles of clothes and keepsakes for something he bought the other day. Diving into a pile of old shirts he never bothered to hang up, he found his prize.

“Aha!” Sora exclaimed as he yanked the item out from the depths. Without another word he flew past Riku and dashed through the halls. The designated student’s wing was near the adult’s, so it only took him a minute to get there.

He skid to a stop in front of the door and gently knocked. He heard Riku run up behind him and heave an exhausted sigh.

A couple seconds later, the door timidly opened. Lunam peered through at him. He was fresh out of a shower and was wearing the clothes Riku had laid out for him. He looked a million times better than he did an hour ago.

Sora thrust the gift forward. Lunam reeled back and looked at it with wide, confused eyes.

It was a stuffed owl. It was hand-stitched with grey and cream-colored patterns. Its beady eyes were made of buttons and it vaguely resembled a barn owl.

“I got this for Riku’s new student, which  _ just so happens _ to be you!” Sora declared proudly. “I don’t know if you like stuffed animals or anything like that, but I thought it would be nice to have something soft and comforting in such a new place.”

Lunam’s gaze moved between him and the toy. After several seconds, he reached forward and gingerly took it from Sora’s grasp.

“...Thank you. I love owls, actually.” Lunam mumbled after a moment.

Sora beamed. His smile must’ve been infectious, because Lunam started smirking too.

His expression turned a degree softer. “I want you to know that you’re safe here. All this might be crazy and it might be pretty overwhelming, but no one is pushing you to understand. You can learn at your own pace, and if at any point you decide that this path isn’t right for you, you can go home, okay?’

Lunam stared at him blankly. His eyes were dark and scanning.

“Thanks for the consideration, Sir, but I never want to go back.”

Sora paused for a moment, then stood upright. He tilted his head downward and let his smile fade a bit. 

“Alright. We’re glad to have you, Lunam.” Sora made a show of looking around awkwardly. “But I’ll, ah, leave you alone. I’m going to be just down the hall if you need me, ‘kay?”

The boy nodded. He held the stuffed owl close as his eyes flickered to his new teacher.

Riku stepped forward calmly. “Let’s patch up some of those cuts now,” he said. He walked into the room with Lunam and cast Sora a sparing, grateful glance before the door swung shut.


	2. Sora's Student

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora contemplates things and goes for a walk. He gets more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to come out!! Some things came up and I lost the will to write for a while. Thankfully, I managed to get it done before 17 billion years went by. Enjoy!

Don’t get him wrong, Lunam was a great student. For the six months he had been at the Land of Departure, he had excelled both academically and physically. His determination was practically unending, fueled by some underlying sense of smug spite. Dangerous if left unchecked, and Riku was working on that.

But Sora couldn’t help feeling like a failure when he saw Riku and Lunam out training. He had gotten a student on the first day of looking - and a good one, to boot. Lunam was not only courageous, but he was humble, too. (Albeit, only after he had said something stupid, Riku snapped at him, and a whole lot of apologising from both sides was done.)

Sora had also been tasked to find a student. Heck,  _ everyone _ had agreed that if they found someone worthy while out on their travels, they would bring them back (if they could) and train them. With Riku having found their first new addition, everyone naturally assumed that Sora would soon follow. After all, he and Riku were inseparable. Sora always achieved something right after Riku did. Their lives were an endless competition with each other.

He hadn’t found a student. Not after six months of going out of his way to dig around every part of a world. Sora hadn’t felt that spark yet. He hadn’t caught up.

So, like any reasonable person, he asked his giant key-sword for advice.

Talking to their Keyblades wasn’t a new thing for “The Squad” (as Sora and Kairi called them). Ever since Ventus got all his memories back, he had told them about the guiding light of their weapons. He asked them about that small push in the right direction they got. The warm hum in their heads when they felt cold or alone. Their Keyblades were ancient, mystical beings that had grown consciousness over the centuries. It was only a matter of reaching out to that light and speaking to it.

Sora found himself in one of his usual hiding spots. He had many - half of which Kairi, Riku, Roxas, or Ven knew about. This was one he went to, however, when he didn’t want to be found or bothered.

He crossed his legs beneath himself and stared at the expanse before him. Settled on the ledge of a mountain wasn’t the safest thing, but it had a pretty good view.

Holding up a hand, he called out to the warmth in his heart. It responded dutifully and his Keyblade flashed forward. Its soft, padded grip fit perfectly in his hand.

“King,” Sora said with a small smile, “what’s up?”

A voice like wind chimes rang in his head.  _ I know what is on your mind, young one. _

Sora sighed and leaned back heavily. He let his hand flop down to his lap and cradled Kingdom Key close.

“Got any advice?” he asked. “You’re always full of bountiful wisdom and such. Where do  _ you _ think I can find a student?”

_ You will find your student where your heart leads you. There is no rush.  _

Sora pouted. “You sound like everyone else. Can you please say something all-knowing?”

His Keyblade seemed to chuckle.  _ You are always so impatient, young one. While Riku certainly found his apprentice faster than expected, you are not inadequate or a failure because you have not found yours. Thing such as this take time. _

He frowned deeply, staring out at the expansive world before him. A breeze flew by and chilled his skin, causing a shiver. Almost immediately a familiar warmth flooded his bones and warmed him right back up.

“...Thanks, King.” He smiled to himself. “I mean, I’m still going to go nuts over this, but I’m glad you’re not judging me or anything.”

There was more laughter in his head. It was deep and earnest - not unlike Terra’s.

_ You know your allies are not judging you either, my boy.  _

Sora smiled wider. Yeah, he did know that. After all, they had only beat it into his skull  _ a million times. _

Still, that didn’t get rid of the deep feeling of disappointment in his gut. He sighed to himself and got to his feet. Stretching, Sora debated between lying down in the common room to sulk or going out to a world to cheer himself up.

The latter of the two choices was what he eventually decided on. Sora plucked his phone from his pocket and shot Riku a quick text saying that he’d be back in a few hours. Without waiting for a reply, he hit the button on his armor. Within seconds he was on his glider and soaring to the Lanes Between.

* * *

 

Getting a cup of coffee was probably a good choice. Even though Sora often disliked it, he found that the bitterness helped ground his thoughts. And the heat helped shield against the cold of winter. 

He walked along the snow-covered sidewalk, sipping his drink. Children around him shrieked with glee and pointed desperately at toy shop displays. Their parents, clothed in heavy coats and tall boots, kept their kids close with a firm grip on their hands. Teenagers strode around together and couples kept warm with their arms around each other. Sora gave a couple coins to streetside “Santas” that were raising money for charity.

All in all, it was a very cheerful time. Sora loved to see people so happy and worry-free.

He strode along silently for a few minutes. No one paid him much mind. He blended in with the crowd, donning a thick hoodie with the hood pulled up. His nose and cheeks were red from the cold and the friendly smile he gave people felt a little numb.

But Sora didn’t mind the chill. He didn’t mind the occasional shiver that went through his skin. Winter was nice. It brought around the holidays, and that always had people growing closer together. 

Taking a seat on a dusted off bench, Sora surveyed the city around him. He smiled to himself as he took another sip of his nearly empty coffee. 

It was nice. Enjoying the peace. Sure, plenty of things still needed to be cleaned up around the worlds, but nothing universe-threatening was going on. They worked hard to make sure these civilians didn’t feel fear.

Sora smiled to himself and enjoyed the city sounds for a minute longer. The knot of disappointment in his mind began to unravel slowly. 

_ You have all the time in the world, _ he thought to himself as the seconds ticked by.  _ There’s no need to rush anything. _

He finished his coffee and stood. It was about time to go home, he mused. Sora walked along the sidewalk to find a secluded spot to warp home, tossing the styrofoam cup into a trashcan as he went. 

Sora found the edge of town pretty quickly. The roads had devolved into chipped lanes of asphalt and highways stretched away from them all. Honestly, he could’ve just gone to some alleyway back in the city, but this was much more relaxing. He wanted to prolong the time he spent here as much as possible; admiring the lazy snowfall and pale clouds.

Eventually, after passing a small neighborhood, Sora found an old warehouse. He decided that he had done enough wandering for the day. It was going to get dark soon, after all.

He made his way to the abandoned building. Riku’s insistent words to “be careful not to be seen” and “make sure you don’t cause a panic” echoed in his head. Sora inwardly rolled his eyes at the memory.

As he went to open the rusty door, he stopped. His ear twitched. Sora frowned to himself, brows furrowing, as he tried to understand what made his senses jerk.

A noise. Distant and faint, but still there. Sora lowered his arm and turned his head towards the sound, trying to pinpoint where it came from. It had almost sounded like…

A child crying. They sounded in pain and afraid.

Without hesitation, Sora bolted towards the source. All worries about seeming suspicious left his mind as he ran towards the small wooded area near the subdivision. His speed was near inhuman. A small tug spurred him on and towards the source. 

Sora ducked through trees and snow-covered bushes. He followed what he assumed was an old trail leading further into the woods. The sound had stopped, but the pull in his gut kept him going. 

He could sense he was getting close and began to slow. Fog misted in from of him as he heaved a couple deep breaths into his lungs. Just past some more gray trees, he saw old structures. Upon further inspection he found that it was playground equipment that had long since been abandoned. Snow was piled on top of it and ice crusted the edges.

Sora frowned a bit and walked forward. He was sure that this world didn’t have a Heartless problem. He and Roxas had been sure of that. So what else could’ve triggered such a strong reaction?

A small gasp answered his question. Sora froze and stared at the snowy ground at the foot of the slide.

It was a young girl. She seemed to be no older than fourteen at most, with long blonde hair and a heavy winter coat. Sora would’ve taken more note of her general appearance if he didn’t immediately notice the red staining the snow.

He rushed forward without hesitation. “Are you okay?”

She immediately scooted back, eyes wide with fear. She held her bleeding leg close and looked up at him warily.

Sora paused in his blind dash. After a second of contemplation, his expression softened and he kneeled in the snow a few feet away. He calmed his racing heart and further evaluated the situation. 

The girl has clearly injured herself. Her left leg had a long, shallow gash along the calf. Glancing around, he saw the trail of crimson leading from the ruined slide that she had been sitting under. There was also a jagged piece of plastic sticking from its side, with a thin line of blood trailing down it. Sora nodded to himself before turning back with a comforting smile.

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m not gonna hurt you,” he said softly. “You’re hurt. Can I help you?”

Her blue eyes sparkled with tears. “W-who are you?”

“My name is Sora. What’s your name?”

She regarded him carefully for a moment. After deeming he wasn’t a threat, she spoke. “I’m… I’m Solari.”

He smiled wider. “It’s great to meet you, Solari! Now, can I help your leg? I have some medical supplies on me, and I don’t think you should walk with it like that.”

Solari stared with trembling shoulders before hesitantly nodding. Sora carefully shuffled closer and reached into his medical bag. The girl tensed as his hand disappeared from sight, but relaxed when she saw him unclip the pouch and set it on the ground next to him.

He extended his hands to grasp her leg and inspect the injury closer. Solari inhaled sharply, causing Sora to stop and cast her a reassuring look. 

Gently, he took her leg in his hands and squinted at the injury. Melting snow was scattered over it, mixing with the moderate amount of blood.

“How did this happen?” he asked casually, taking a handkerchief from the bag.

Solari tensed again as he began to clean the wound. “I-I was exploring a-around here. I wan-wanted to sit at the t-top of the playground but-but I slipped on some ice an-and fell down the slide.”

Sora wiped up the rest of the grime and watched as fresh blood started weeping from the cut. It was pretty shallow, thankfully. It wouldn’t require a hospital.

“Alright, I’m gonna clean it out. This might sting.” Sora grabbed the bottle of altered peroxide from his supplies and a clean cloth. Solari nodded and braced herself.

Softly, he scrubbed away at the crusting wound. The girl held her breath, obviously expected the pain to be worse. Sora allowed himself a small smile at her reaction and kept cleaning. Naminė had come up with a simple mix of hydrogen peroxide and a Potion to cut back on the pain while promoting the healing. 

As he worked, Sora thought of more conversation topics. Something in the back of his mind was encouraging him to talk to this girl. He didn’t know what, but he had learned long ago to trust his instincts.

“Do you live around here?” he asked casually. Making sure to be careful, he cleaned out the inside of the cut to make sure that the plastic hadn’t infected anything.

Solari hissed in pain for before replying. “I um- I do. That ne-neighborhood nearb-by.”

“What are you doing out here all alone?” Sora continued. “It’s dangerous to climb around broken playground equipment. Do your parents know you’re here?”

She hesitated for a long while. Sora dared a glance at her face as he put away the second bloody cloth. Her eyes were averted and downcast. Discomfort was evident in her posture.

Solari seemed to gather up her courage. She took a quick, shuddering breath.

“Yeah… I told m-my f-foster parents I’d be exploring. I did-didn’t think I’d get h-hurt.”

Sora only paused for half a second in his search for medical gauze. “...Well, do you have a phone you can call them on?”

A swift shake of her head made Sora frown. Well, that would make this a little difficult. While his own cell would work practically anywhere, he really didn’t want to deal with authorities asking questions. Normally a few dodged questions and forged licenses were enough. But for some reason, he wanted to personally make sure that Solari got home safe.

He pressed a patch to the wound and began wrapping it up. “Well, if you remember where you live, I can take you back there. It shouldn’t be too far.”

Solari made a squeaking sound. “I-I don’t think- uhm, s-stranger danger?”

Sora looked sharply up at her, frozen mid-wrap. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and she appeared too mortified to speak. 

Abruptly, Sora burst into laughter. He barely managed not to drop the roll of gauze as he doubled over. The young girl stiffened unsurely in front of him, but he was too busy wheezing to notice.

“Y- those are good instincts, Solari!” Sora said through his giggles. “Yeah, it really is a case of ‘stranger danger’, huh?”

She gawked at him.

“Well, I swear I’m no danger to you. I know that, like,  _ every _ bad person might say that, but I promise I’m telling the truth.”

Her skepticism was evident, but it wasn’t complete distrust. Sora still kept treating her wound with a small, amused smile on his face.

After a couple seconds of silence passed, Sora felt a tug in the back of his mind. Like his Keyblade prompting him to look somewhere. Except this time there was no direction - just a small nudge.

He took a slow breath, keeping his eyes averted. “So, Solari… Can I ask you a question?”

She hesitated before making a sound that was vaguely similar to “sure”.

Sora’s lips pressed into a thin line as he tried to figure out how to word it.

“When you look at the stars, what do you see?”

Silence. More long seconds passed before Sora dared to look up. Solari wasn’t as tense as before. Instead, she was staring at him with pure, childlike curiosity. Something akin to a spark twinkled in her eyes. The kind of spark Sora could recognize anywhere.

“...There are stories,” she began with only the slightest quiver in her voice. “Stories of other worlds or u-universes in the sky. I-I mean, science has told use tha-that stars are just big balls of energy bi-billions of miles away. But some-sometimes I like to believe th-that stars are other w-worlds.”

Sora couldn’t help the grin that grew on his face. “Do you believe in those stories?”

She hesitated again. “I… don’t know. I mean, I’d  _ like _ to believe it, y’know? I w-wanna believe that there are-are better places out there. Place I-I can explore with-without worrying about getting h-home in time for dinner. But l-logically I know that it-it’s probably just a kid’s s-story.”

His smile only grew wider, and it became a struggle to hide it. He tied up the rest of the gauze and forced his expression to remain neutral.

“What if… I told you that the stories were real?”

Solari tilted her head quizzically and with a slight hint of caution. Sora looked up with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Do you believe in magic, Solari?” Sora asked gently. “In the light that comes from those distant stars?”

At her lack of response, Sora continued. “Or, rather, do you  _ want _ to believe in them?”

Something flickered in her expression for a moment. Her shock gave way to childlike wonder for just a moment. Sora withheld an even brighter smile at the sight of it.

“I…” Solari squeaked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Y-you do rea-realize how c-crazy you sound, ri-right?”

Sora let out a chuckle of amusement. “Yeah, I know I do. If it helps, I can prove it.”

Before she could call him crazy again, Sora held up his hand. He called to the hum of light in the back of his mind. Slowly, it rose to meet him, surrounding his palm and stretching out in its golden glow. After a few seconds he fully drew it out, and Kingdom Key flashed into existence.

Solari gasped, her eyes wide. Awe and shock was written all over her features. Sora grinned at her (enjoying her reaction more than he’d care to admit,) and held his Keyblade in both hands.

She was silent, studying the Blade with a careful gaze. Sora shifted and brought her attention up to him.

He took a breath as a strange warmth filled his bones. The voice of his Keyblade rang softly in his head, urging him forward. Urging him to speak.

Sora spoke words that had been engraved into his heart. Words that set his heart ablaze.

“In your hand, take this Key.” Sora began softly. “So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, it’s wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend -  No walls will contain you then. No more borders around, below, or above; so long as you champion the ones you love.”

He gestured the handle of the Blade forward. Solari’s eyes flickered between him and it for a moment.

Her hand slowly reached through the air. Very gently and carefully, her fingers closed around the grip.

A breath Sora didn’t know he was holding came flooding out. A shudder went through his skin. For some reason, he felt lighter. Like he had been carrying something heavy for a long time and only just now was relieved.

Solari swiftly let go, her expression morphing to confusion. “W-what was…?”

“Don’t… don’t worry about it, kiddo,” Sora said with a smile. He could feel Kingdom Key humming in his head. It sounded as if it were singing in joy with a voice like windchimes.

He dismissed the Keyblade and shifted how he was sitting. “I can carry you back home since your leg is pretty bad off.”

“Oh! N-no, you don’t have to- I mean, I can probably walk-”

He raised his hand, and Solari’s mouth snapped closed. “You’re hurt. If you try to walk on that leg, it’ll only make the wound worse. Trust me, I know.”

She looked at him pointedly for a couple seconds. “...And you would know that how?”

“Let’s just say that when you wander around the stars swinging a giant key at the forces of darkness you occasionally get a few scrapes.”

Solari snorted laughter then immediately covered her mouth with her hand. Sora grinned and struggled not to find the sound incredibly endearing. 

He shifted forward and raised his hands a bit. “Is it alright if I pick you up?”

After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. Sora reached and looped his left arm under her legs and the other around her shoulders. Fluidly, he got to his feet and hefted her into a position he knew felt more comfortable. A small part in the back of his mind took note of how light she was.

Solari made a small “ _ eep! _ ” and tensed up in his arms. Just from her expression, Sora knew she was surprised at how easily he carried her. 

“Alright,” Sora began, “let’s get going.”

* * *

 

Sora thought over that interaction for weeks. When he had come home, Ventus grilled him on why he looked so  _ thoughtful _ . After telling him what happened, everyone immediately demanded the whole story. Even Lunam pressed for answers with an excited gleam in his eyes.

Eventually they all left him alone. But the subject was far from dropped. Around the Holidays, there were presents under the tree for a student that wasn’t even there yet. 

December passed and the new year came in full swing. Everyone had finally settled down and gotten back into the usual routine. Sora had started to worry that Solari wouldn’t summon a Keyblade of her own. Kingdom Key had been frustratingly cryptic and unhelpful for the entire time. Stupid Keyblades and their infinite wisdom…

Kairi was probably the only thing that kept him sane. She had some kind of seventh sense for when Sora was overthinking things. It was honestly incredible how fast she’d show up and find some way to distract him. Usually by kicking his butt in the arena.

A week after New Year’s, Kingdom Key finally stopped being mysterious. Sora was swinging around the parkour course when the all-knowing, ancient being inside of his magic sword decided to shove him. Mentally.

With a startled yelp, Sora fell from the pole he had been balancing on. He couldn’t even righten himself before he slammed face-first into the grass.

“Ow!” he hissed, holding his bloody nose. “What the hell, King?!”

_ My apologies, young one. But I believe that it is time for you to retrieve your student. _

Sora had never scrambled to find Kairi so fast. 

He, somehow, managed to explain what King had told him. Kairi somehow understood him and demanded he go take a shower and put on some proper clothes. He didn’t ask questions as she threw a button-up and some slacks at his head.

When Sora got out of the shower, he paused and wondered aloud why Kairi was wearing a semi-formal jacket and shoes. 

“Well, we’re going out to adopt a young girl, right? We need to look presentable.”

Sora choked and barely managed not to scream.

Roxas managed to catch them on the way out (or, rather, Kairi  _ conveniently _ bumped into him). After briefly explaining the plan, Roxas gave them a long and hard stare before saying “wait here” and marched off. A minute later he came back with a series of folders and documents.

“If you don’t want the system up your ass, you’re going to need some fake papers to let them look at.” He roughly shoved the stack into Sora’s hands. “Kai, pretend you’re some official that has already cleared Sora. It’ll be easier than having to deal with real paperwork.”

Sora looked at him, eyes wide.

“How do you just  _ have _ a series of forged documents at the ready for this exact situation?” he croaked.

Roxas only offered a toothy grin.

(He later told Kairi that he had been working on it since Sora met Solari.)

They arrived at Solari’s house a couple hours later. Sora, having remembered the tacky snowman decorations out front, could easily lead them up the steps. He was beyond nervous as Kairi knocked. He wondered if people going to pick up their soon-to-be-adopted kids always felt this anxious.

As he strung that series of words in his head, his heart pounded twice as fast.

Honestly, he couldn’t focus on what sweet lies Kairi wove as she talked to the foster parents. The blood pounding in his ears was too loud. He simply nodded and smiled, responding to prompts with short answers. His eyes kept wandering into the house, where he saw four kids that weren’t Solari jumping around. Two seemed to be under the age of ten, while the rest were teenagers.

Eventually they were invited inside, and Solari was called down. As soon as she laid eyes on Sora, her jaw fell open. 

Sora vaguely remembered asking Solari if she was okay with leaving so soon. To reply, she looked him dead in the eyes and spoke with barely a stutter.

“Sir, to b-be completely honest, I’ve been waiting f-for you to pick me up since we m-met.”

Everything else after that was honestly a blur. Sora could only focus on the warm feeling in his chest.

He remembered walking out with a small suitcase in tow. Kairi said most of the goodbyes and Solari had been hugged by the other kids (albeit uncomfortably, Sora noted). Fake paperwork was filled out and they were finally heading out. Sora was gradually bringing himself back into reality when Solari said something that had him dying all over again.

“So…” she began unsurely, “you two f-filled out the paperwork to ad-adopt me, right? Did-did you  _ have _ to do that?”

Kairi looked down at her with a brilliant smile. “Nope, but in case you ever want to come back, we decided to do it legally so we didn’t have to deal with missing posters.”

Solari smiled, the glint in her eye betrayed just how much she understood. 

“Al-also, since Mr. Sora is-is now technically my le-legal guardian, does that m-mean I call hi-him dad, now?”

The sound that Sora made came to be something Kairi would laugh about for years. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, we got them both now! Hope you all enjoyed :D


	3. Fumbling Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first week is always the most crucial, and this one certainly becomes a wild ride.

In Sora’s defense, no one actually  _ taught _ him how to teach someone. There were no lessons or lectures for him to use as reference; because honestly, Aqua and Riku had just sighed in exasperation whenever they tried to teach him something. If it was combat, each bruise would be a step towards committing it to memory. 

Now he had to figure out how to transfer that knowledge to a preteen girl with anxiety.

The first week was easy. Solari had been acclimating to the Land of Departure and everyone living there. Lunam had made it his personal mission to make sure she felt as comfortable as possible. He had been given the week off to do just that. The two of them got into a healthy amount of trouble, such as nearly starting a fire in the yard, freezing a bush, and getting tangled in the training rings.

A good first impression, Sora thought as he broke the ice off of several other plants. Now he just had to introduce everyone else in their usual Saturday get-together.

Oh, great Light above. He was going to have to deal with everyone else.

Don’t get him wrong, he absolutely loved his friends. Lea and Isa were a blast to be around. But paired with Roxas, Xion, and Namine… well, the five of them had a sort of  _ chaotic good _ chemistry. Lea was extra hyper around his old friends, and with a crowd to perform to, he was going to be  _ insane _ . Isa would be working twice as hard, causing only Namine and Xion to be able to watch him so he doesn’t pick a fight with Riku. But those two would also be busy trying to keep Riku from picking a fight with Roxas- especially now that they have two whole students to show off for-

He shook his head. It’d be fine, he reasoned. Aqua was going to be there. She could wrangle everyone down.

To keep himself from worrying, he skipped off to a store in the closest world to buy everyone’s favorite snacks. Of course, they already had everyone’s favorites in the pantry, but Sora was sure that they were going to go through them all on Saturday, so they’d need to restock. Might as well go shopping and be better prepared, right? He’d even pick up some of those chocolate sweets that Naminé loved.

With a mental list in mind, he hopped away into a portal.

…

“So how’d you meet this kid?” Lea asked boisterously, one arm around Isa and the other holding a drink (thankfully, water, since there were kids present).

Sora grinned at the redhead. He felt Solari press just a bit closer to him at the attention. She was already huddled up because of the amount of people, and questions constantly being asked wasn’t helping her anxiety. Thankfully, Naminé and Xion were calm and quiet enough to balance it out while Aqua strangled anyone that got too rambunctious.

“In an old park,” Sora explained. “I found her with an injured leg in the snow. Thankfully, it didn’t get infected and the cut wasn’t too deep. Then I took her back home.”

Lea smiled widely at Solari. “Welcome to the party! I’m Lea- got it memorized?”

Isa gave a suffering sigh. “I’m Isa. It’s a pleasure.”

“I’m Xion!”

“My name is Naminé.”

“Ventus. Call me Ven!”

Solari stiffened underneath all the greetings sent her way. Sora glanced down to make sure she wasn’t too uncomfortable, and was pleased to find a small smile tugging at her lips. Oh, that was good, he thought. Now he didn’t have to  _ throttle _ anyone who got too loud. At least for now.

Ven leaned back and plucked a pretzel from the bowl nearby. “Seriously though, Sora. I’m gone for a few days and we get a new member! You gotta keep me in the loop.”

“That’s what you get for trying to take care of that heartless dragon hoard by yourself,” Roxas commented.

In response, Ventus huffed and folded his arms. Lunam leaned forward with bright and curious eyes.

“You did  _ what _ , Master Ventus?” Lunam breathed with a grin forming on his face.

Ven returned the expression. “Oh, storytime, then? Well, I was visiting some old friends of mine...”

For hours, they all told stories. Ones that they had told each other hundreds of times, and ones that they had experienced just the other day. With each one, Solari began to relax and open up a bit. She still only answered direct questions with nods, but it was a step. 

Lunam demanded to know about every single cool battle they had. With everyone there to pitch in, they somehow managed to create cohesive pictures for the students to follow. Sora did have to admit, though, that describing fighting darkness incarnate in the heart of its territory was pretty difficult. 

Far too soon, Xion looked at her watch and exclaimed the time. She apologised for having to go, but Aqua wisely stated that it was getting late. After all, not everyone lived at the castle. 

Sora waved goodbye to the friends that weren’t staying the night. Only Kairi, Ven, and Riku were sticking around, since everyone else either wanted to stay elsewhere or had work to finish. Lunam was forced to bed after much protesting and Sora began to escort Solari to her own room.

She stuck close to his side as they walked through the echoing halls. Sora let the silence sink in for a comfortable amount of time - even pushing some Light into the air to warm them both. Only when they were at the halfway point did he try to start up a conversation.

“So, did you have fun?” he asked quietly, careful not to startle her.

Solari shrugged. He’d take that as a yes.

“...I know they can all be overwhelming, but I hope they didn’t stress you out too much.”

She shook her head. “They didn’t,” she said softly. 

Several more seconds of silence passed. Sora didn’t let himself think it was awkward and let Solari start speaking on her own if she wanted to continue.

“I… I liked Miss Naminé.”

Sora grinned down at her. “Yeah, I knew you would. Naminé is super nice and laid back. It’s super refreshing to talk to her after dealing with everyone else, huh?”

Guiltily, Solari made a noise of agreement. “I-I liked her drawings.”

“Oh! Yes! She’s a super good artist. Seeing her paintings around the halls are cool, but watching her actually sketch out somebody on the fly like that is awesome. Personally, I’ve never been able to draw.”

“M-me neither… I jus-just like watching people dr-draw and stuff…”

Sora chuckled. “It is pretty cool, huh?”

She hummed and they fell into another lapse of silence. Sora couldn’t keep a smile off his face. Maybe he was still hyper from all the sugar at the party.

Within another minute, they made it to Solari’s room. Sora prepped himself for saying goodnight and expressing how happy he was that she was here. Everyone else had loved meeting Solari - heck, even Lea had lowered the volume when he noticed Solari stiffen. He was just so happy to have a new member in their little family. 

He smiled to himself, imagining Riku rolling his eyes at his enthusiasm. He hoped he didn’t look weird as he opened the door for Solari.

Sora was broken out of his musings when Solari let out a little “Oh!” His head snapped up and he followed her gaze to her bed.

Sitting atop the sheets was a small stuffed lion. Its button eyes were glinting in the lamplight and were framed by a mane made of yarn. A tiny red patch in the shape of a heart sat on its chest.

“Oh, right!” Sora exclaimed, his smile widening. “I got that for you the other day- I figured you might’ve seen Lunam’s and would want one of your own. I also saw that you seemed to like cats so I asked my friend if they could make a lion, so it took a couple days longer than I had hoped…”

He rambled on a bit before slowly trailing away. Solari stepped slowly towards the stuffed animal and reached out, delicately picking it up with both hands. Sora walked inside and watched carefully. He prayed that she would like it and not be creeped out by his strange hypervigilance and overthinking. Maybe she’d think it was weird that he noticed that and went so far as to get a custom lion toy.

A soft sniff broke his train of thought. Sora trained his eyes back on his student.

Solari’s shoulders were trembling. Her arms were hugged tight to her chest with the lion in tow. Sora’s heart did a flip in fear as he took a few steps forward.

“...Hey kiddo, you okay?” he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

She was crying; and just as he realized it, she was reaching up and wiping her eyes. Sora walked closer and slowly went to touch her shoulder. His fingers brushed her shirt, and upon seeing no negative reaction, he softly set his whole hand in place.

“I-I’m sorry,” she choked, “I’m just re-really happy.”

The knot in Sora’s stomach melted into a wave of warmth. He pulled his student close and wrapped his arms wholly around her. Solari relaxed into his chest and sobbed into the fabric of his jacket. He held her tightly and began to circle his hands on her back.

“I’m glad you’re happy…” he whispered. A few tears of his own slipped down his face.

She sobbed freely, putting her free arm around his waist. Her small hand grabbed a fistful of his shirt.

“Than- _ thank you _ ,” Solari mumbled through her cries. “Thank you f-for everything, Sir.”

He smiled and closed his eyes.

“You’re welcome, Soli.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so i know this is short but i swear we'll be getting into the Good Plot soon


	4. Slice of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An average day for the team at the Castle, except certain creatures begin to brew...

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” Sora murmured as he followed a snowy trail. He had been tracking this beast for over an hour now, and the late-winter chill wasn’t doing him any favors. 

Even though his patrols had been greatly reduced since gaining a student, he wasn’t allowed to neglect them. His routine visit to Beast’s Castle led him to discover that a rather dangerous creature had been stalking around the town. Livestock had been slaughtered without reason - the beast not even eating the prey it killed before sulking back into the woods. From the visceral corpses Sora had seen, and the large tracks he was currently following, it was no small wolf.

He had a very strong suspicion that it was a Heartless. Most animals around this time would be killing for food, not sport. There wouldn’t be anything left of the sheep save for bones if it were any old case.

Plus, y’know, wolves didn’t have giant, three-foot claws that left cracks in their wake.

Sora was only mildly annoyed with these prints. By his estimate, the creature could be nine meters long. Nothing to scoff at, but nothing he couldn’t handle. 

It was trivially easy to follow the trail of broken branches and upturned snow. Some smaller trees had been splintered and destroyed, while bushes had been completely crushed. On top of that was the blood that had been smeared over the dirtied forest floor. Sora’s main concern wasn’t losing the scent - instead he did his best not to trip over piles of foliage.

After what felt like ages, he came across a series of ridges and small cliffs. It was like someone had taken a hammer to a brittle mountain and then scattered it over the area.

What’s worse, the trail started to get muddy. With the lack of plants and already rough terrain, the large prints he had been following started to look like they belonged. 

Sora grumbled under his breath and strained his eyes more on small hints. He went after the larger path between the rocks, figuring that such a giant beast wouldn’t be able to fit between tiny crevices. 

He strolled carefully forward, keeping an ear out for anything near. Normally he could hear Heartless from a mile away, or at least sense their presence. But this one set him on edge. Not because of the way the trail began to fade (which was, however, a factor). 

The thing that had him cautious was the lack of birds chirping in the trees overhead.

The only sound that was there to comfort him was the sound of his own boots crunching on the snow. It was freshly fallen, like always, and compacted into the perfect consistency for a snowball. It was numbing to listen to as he tried to steel his nerves

_ Crunch, crunch. _

Sora’s eyes began to narrow as the tracks grew lighter. Snow began to drift from the sky lazily, adding to the already fading trail.

_ Crunch, crunch. _

The claws that he had been following disappeared. Scratch marks engraved the small rock ledge next to him. They were fresh.

_ Cr-crunch, crunch. _

Sora whipped around, Keyblade flashing into his hand. He only had time to see the gleam of red eyes before what felt like a semi truck slammed into his ribs.

He sailed for only a second before his back cracked against a pillar of stone. Air  _ whooshed _ out of his lungs as pain rocketed across his body. Kingdom Key didn’t even have a chance to appear.

He slid into the snow, unable to put his hands beneath himself to cushion the fall. A heave of icy cold air that was followed by a jagged stab in his lungs was enough to tell him that a rib was broken. Damn.

Sora took shallow breaths and looked up at his assailant. Crimson eyes glowered at him from midair. The only indicator that there was something there at all was the indent in the ground.

He barely had the chance to get to his feet before an invisible force hit his side again. He was thrown like a ragdoll into the opposite wall mercilessly. 

There was no time to recover before the same force wrapped around his ankle and whipped him into the air. Sora had the vague impressed of chains as he sailed an easy fifty feet upwards. Weightlessness encompassed him for only a second before that same chain yanked him downwards.

Cold, numbing pain slammed into his being as he hit the snow covered ground. Sora felt his broken rib jab into his lung and restrict his chance of regaining his breath. The chain around his ankle retracted slowly with the low growl of the Heartless. 

He stayed face-down, snow sifting into his clothes and settling over his hair. The Heartless stared at him, a low hiss emitting from its throat.

A familiar hum entered his mind. Sora took a slow, deep breath as his rib snapped back into place and mended. Bruises disappeared and the pain faded into a pleasant warmth. 

Sora stood easily, rolling his shoulders and popping a few joints. The Heartless growled again in anger and appeared to take a ready stance.

“Well, aren’t  _ you _ a big boy,” Sora called out mockingly. A grin split his face as Kingdom Key appeared in-hand.

He didn’t wait for the beast to act first. Sora dove forward, fast enough to leave a cloud of snow in his wake. His Keyblade angled outwards, leaving a large cut on where he knew a leg was. Judging by the resistance and the way the Heartless roared, he knew it was a solid hit.

Its invisibility faded, revealing exactly what Sora suspected. A giant canine with a long tail and horn-like tendrils sprouted from its jaws and back. Its beady red eyes shifted a bit more yellow as it bared its fangs and snarled. Sora noted, with a note of satisfaction, that its left front and back legs had large bleeding wounds on them.

_ A Dark Hide, _ Kingdom Key whispered, reminding him of its abilities and fighting style. Not that Sora would really need to keep that in mind.

It crouched low. Its body blurred and seemed to split into several images. Sora knew better than to stand in one place was multi-colored copies lunged forward with teeth and claws slashing. 

He leapt to the side with enough force to rival a bullet. He planted his feet on the side of a tall rock surrounding them and used it to bounce back to the Heartless. Raising his Blade again, he flew past where the Dark Hide had pounced and delivered a powerful blow to its back. 

Sora didn’t let his momentum slow. He skidded on the snow, cape flaring, before jumping back and lifting his Keyblade.

The weapon buried itself in the beast’s neck. Using the teeth as an anchor, Sora swung himself all the way around its throat and landed on its shoulders. Black blood spurted from the wound in rivers as the Dark Hide screeched.

He pulled Kingdom key from its place and raised it high. As he prepared to end it a sharp warning tugged at his mind. Sora managed to get a glimpse of a spiked tail rushing towards him. He was already moving out of the way. He jumped with unnatural force again. The force of his leap sent the Dark Hide flying to its right and slamming into the stone Sora had used earlier as a springboard.

Without wasting time, Sora bounced right back with a gust of wind. This time the Heartless didn’t have time to retaliate before he rammed his Keyblade full-force into its skull.

It went limp, golden eyes unfocused. The corrupted blood on the ground faded into smoke as its body dissolved. Sora stepped back as its skin flaked away into the winter breeze. 

His Keyblade disappeared in a soft hiss of light. He heaved a heavy sigh and rolled his shoulders back.

_ Why did you let it hurt you? _ Kingdom Key asked. Sora winced at the tone, which could roughly translate to: “why did you let it smack you around like a ragdoll for a full minute”.

“I wanted a warmup!” Sora defended audibly. 

The silence that stretched was palpable. The intensity of the gaze in Sora’s mind made him shrink up. He knew that no excuses would help him.

_...There is no one to impress. I don’t understand why you felt the need to take such hits. _

Sora sputtered. He gave a valiant effort in trying to defend himself for several seconds before ultimately giving up.

“Let’s just go,” he grumbled, face red with embarrassment. There was a definite sigh of exasperation as he started to trudge back into town.

…

Sora came home at around six. His muscles were stiff from the occasional scuffle, legs sore from walking, and light drained from surfing across the stars all day. All he really wanted to do was flop face-down on his bed and sleep for the rest of the day. But unfortunately, he had something to report to the others that were home.

He heaved himself up the stairs and flung the door open proudly. “I’M HOOOOOME!” he shouted at the top of his lungs to the grand castle.

His voice echoed for a couple seconds before rapid footsteps approached. Sora barely had time to brace himself before a certain redhead barreled full-force into a crushing hug. He staggered back a couple steps as a wide grin spread across his face.

“Sooorraaaaa!” Kairi whined with her arms around his neck. “I was training Lunam’s magic like I’m supposed to, right? Then all of the sudden it goes haywire and I was stuck melting ice off of the training rings because of that mishap and I’m not mad I’m just  _ tired _ . And  _ then _ I had to go patrol and UGH.”

Sora laughed heartily, patting her back. “Me too. I had to deal with some Heartless while I was out. Actually, I need to talk to everyone about that.”

Kairi pulled away as her brows furrowed and her mouth became a thin line. The light, teasing air around her instantly morphed into a serious aura.

“Anything to worry about?” she asked.

Sora allowed a pout to tug at his lips. “I don’t think so. But everyone should keep an eye out anyways. You know who’s home?”

“Riku, Ven, and Roxas. I’ll go ring them for you.”

Kairi started to pull back before thinking better of it. She turned back to pressed a long, loving kiss to Sora’s lips (which he gladly returned). It lasted several seconds before they disengaged.

Her smile strung chords in Sora’s chest, igniting a series of butterflies that flit around his heart. In times like this Sora found it easy to get lost in that warm feeling that engulfed his senses. He wanted nothing more than to hold that feeling tight and never let go.

Unfortunately, Kairi stepped back and skipped down the hall to find the others. Sora watched her go with a soft sigh.

“So when are you going to propose?”

Sora shrieked and whirled to his right. Standing against the doorframe was the culprit of his heart attack, Roxas. His counterpart had his arms folded and an amused smirk on his face, as if drawing that undignified sound from Sora was the funniest thing he had done all day.

“Don’t SCARE me like that!” Sora heaved, placing a hand over his racing heart. 

“Mmhm. So when is the wedding?” Roxas continued.

Sora’s face turned bright red. His heart rate skyrocketed. “I- you c- that’s-  _ Roxas-! _ ”

The blond laughed at his plight. He stepped up and jabbed a finger in his chest, the smirk turning into a genuine smile.

“Seriously, dude, it’s been like, seven years? Eight? When’s the big day?” Roxas teased.

“Can you  _ not _ right now?” Sora squeaked, his voice several octaves higher. It felt like his cheeks were on fire. “We need to talk to everyone else about the Heartless!”

“Re _ lax _ . _ Ven’s _ home. He’ll send a message to the group chat or go figure out what’s wrong before we know it. Then we kill another big monster and go about our day. Did I get that about right?”

Sora frowned at him, the embarrassment fading. “I have a few other concerns I wanna bring up. Hopefully it’s that simple though, right?”

Roxas nodded and jerked his head to the side. They both silently started walking towards the lounge, where the other three were probably waiting. Sora could sense an unspoken conversation building up and resigned himself to the inevitable teasing that it would entail.

Thank the Light for Solari, who saved him from even more embarrassment at the hands of Roxas. As they rounded the corner, two small yellow and blue shapes nearly ran into them. Sora took a step back to avoid crashing into his student.

Solari looked up at him, her eyes lighting joyfully. “Oh, welcome home, Sir!”

Sora couldn’t help the happy smile that overcame him. He reached and ruffled Solari’s hair, not missing the way she leaned into his touch.

“Heya kiddo. I heard Lunam caused some trouble while I was gone.”

Lunam frowned at him, folding his arms with an indignant huff. “It’s not  _ my _ fault that magic is tempermental and stupid.”

“Blizzard isn’t supposed to be an  _ actual _ blizzard, bud,” Sora countered with a cheeky grin.

“I have blizzard down pat! It was the stupid blizzara that blew up on me!”

Solari giggled at his expense. The two Masters gave each other amused glances before straightening up a bit.

“That’s what you get for trying to advance too early,” Sora said. “Now off you go, you two. We need to head over and chat with the others.”

“Yessir!” 

Lunam grabbed Solari’s hand and started dragging her along. She yelped and barely managed to keep up. Sora caught a faint “N-no magic this time!” before they ran out the front door. 

He smiled before he and Roxas continued to the lounge. The embarrassing conversation that had been on the horizon disappeared into comfortable silence. Sora had more time to switch into “professional mode” as they rounded corners. 

In only took about a minute before they came across the large common area. The Land of Departure had a ton of unnecessary rooms and studies. Honestly, it had taken them these full eight years to fully deck out the place. Their most common meeting room was the biggest lounge. Chairs were set up in a semi-circle around a coffee table, with a fireplace in the back corner. They all often draped themselves around the room like a bunch of stray cats when they wanted somewhere quiet to relax.

Sora and Roxas walked through the archway, seeing that the other three were already there. Ven greeted them with a wide grin, while Riku simply nodded in acknowledgement.

“So, I heard patrol was interesting?” Ventus began, pouring a cup of tea for the two of them. Sora didn’t know when they had even  _ made _ tea.

He nodded and took his usual seat on the couch next to Kairi. “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to mention something that’s been bugging me for a while.”

Riku took a sip of his tea patiently while Roxas threw himself on the armchair closest to the door. 

“Did you guys notice the increase in purebloods?” Sora asked, his tone just low enough to be startling.

The air changed immediately. Roxas’ brows furrowed and he sat more upright in his awkward position. Ventus stared hard at him and held his teacup a little tighter. Kairi’s face morphed into a frown, and even Riku gave a hint of unease.

“I fought a Dark Hide while patrolling today,” Sora continued, his voice still dark. “If that wasn’t strange enough, it had apparently been attacking a local town and killing their livestock. I’ve never seen one that far out of a darkness zone; much less get so friendly with civilians.”

Ventus had a thoughtful, deep expression. The three of them automatically turned to the blond as he took a breath to speak.

“It is worrying,” Ven eventually said. “I myself sensed some fluctuations around the darkest areas in the Lanes, but I had hoped it was just general unease. Hearing that a Dark Hide was out of its usual territory, though…”

“It’s concerning.” Riku finished. 

“You didn’t get hurt?” Roxas asked with a note of concern.

Sora smiled reassuringly, his usual cheer bleeding through the hard exterior. “Not a scratch!”

There was a pointed snort in the back of his mind, and he chose very deliberately to ignore it.

“That’s good to hear,” Ven breathed as his own smile returned. “But we shouldn’t be any less cautious. I know we’ve all grown complacent in this peaceful time. It’ll be hard to get back into the routine of keeping our barriers clean.”

Sora wanted to groan at the thought of what he liked to call “Hardcore Bedtimes”. He hadn’t had to worry about that for almost three years now. The last time they had serious patrols and borders was when the Heartless Queen had risen and caused a mess. 

Riku leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “Do you think it’s safe enough for me to take Lunam out next week?”

Oh shoot, Sora had completely forgotten about that. Riku was going to take Lunam to see his first new world. Granted, it was Corona, and the kids had been to Radiant Garden and Twilight Town before, but still. It was a big moment! Corona had actual Heartless that could appear out of nowhere and attack them. Riku must’ve felt really confident in Lunam’s abilities if he was still even  _ thinking _ about that trip.

Ven shrugged. “I mean, that’s kinda up to everyone else. But I’m still okay with it. It’s not good to keep the students cooped up here training all the time.”

“I’d hate to be the voice of reason-” Kairi began (not without a note of sarcasm) “-but it seems a little dangerous. What if another pureblood tries to attack you two while you’re there? You know they’re attracted to Light.”

“I might be able to cover our scent. Plus, Lunam isn’t… ‘ _ shiny _ ’ enough to get much attention yet. And even if we do run into something, I’m confident that I can take care of it or at least get Lunam to safety.”

“What about  _ your _ safety?” Sora interjected. “I’m sure you can toss Lunam through a portal if needed, but I don’t want you to be surrounded by, like, ten Darksides.”

Riku raised an eyebrow at him and slowly folded his arms. “...I doubt that a  _ Darkside _ would show up at  _ Corona _ , of all places.”

“Hey, I didn’t expect to see a Dark Hide at Beast’s Castle, but look where we are!”

“Boys.” Ventus raised his hands, an amused smirk on his face. “Let’s discuss this with everyone else some other time, okay? I think it needs to be put to a vote.”

Sora rolled his eyes.  _ Let’s put it to a VOTE, _ he mocked internally.

_ It is a wise and balanced way to resolve issues, _ King pointed out needlessly.

_ I  _ know _ that. I just worry, that’s all! _

Kingdom Key seemed to smile at him.  _ There is no need to worry, young one. I have confidence that your allies can take care of themselves, and face whatever evil might be upon our horizon _ .

Sora sighed mentally and started cleaning up the teacups. He responded politely to little quips from the others, But didn't quite pay attention to the area around him. Instead, his mind kept drifting to worst-case-scenarios that Riku and Lunam could encounter out in Corona. 

Before he could let himself spiral into a pit of terror and imaginary Heartless fights, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sora turned and saw Ventus meeting his gaze with soft eyes.

"Don't worry, Sora," Ven began gently. "We both know that Riku is strong enough to beat any Heartless that might try to attack him and Lunam. And Corona is peaceful enough that they probably won't have any issues anyways."

Sora sighed. "I know. I just worry, y'know? That's what I do."

Ventus smiled and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. Sora found himself leaning into the touch. Ven had a certain air around him that made tension just melt out of Sora. Honestly, he felt he could take a nap right then and there.

"C'mon, let's go supervise the students," Ven said after a second. "I'm sure that Lunam is probably trying to cast Blizzara again."

A smirk wormed it's way onto Sora's face. He nodded and followed after his friend, waving at Riku as they stepped out of the lounge. 

They didn't say anything as they walked through the halls. Honestly, they didn't need to. After Ventus had spent over a decade in Sora's heart, they didn't have to use words too often in order to communicate. It was nice to enjoy the silence sometimes, even though Sora liked to talk.

The two of them made it to the front sparring grounds. The students were partaking in friendly dueling with wooden swords. From the glance Sora got, he could tell that Solari was playing on the defensive. 

Lunam dove and slashed at Solari. The girl yelped and held up her faux Keyblade, but didn't plant her feet properly. The strength of the brief clash sent her stumbling backwards. Her arms pinwheeled as she tried to regain her balance.

Before she could find her footing, her ankle hit a small stone jutting from the ground. Solari fell back and towards the small pond framing the castle.

Sora was moving before he registered what was going on. He darted forward as quick as the wind, leaping over the railing of the stairs. His arms stretched forward and caught Solari before she could fall into the water.

The girl squeaked in surprise, the wooden sword falling from her grasp. She brought her hands close to herself and looked up with wide eyes.

Sora took a shaky breath, ignoring how one of his feet was submerged in the pond. The koi fish swimming underneath the waves were probably mad at him.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Sora managed to ask, breathless.

Solari nodded briskly.

“Oh _,_ _dispara, ¿Tú bien?_ ” Lunam jogged forward. From his expression, Sora figured that he didn’t notice he had switched languages.

“Y-yes, I’m fine,” Solari responded after a second, probably still in shock. Sora gently set her down a safe distance from the pond.

Lunam rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Geez,  _ lo siento. _ I didn’t mean to hit that hard.”

“It-it’s okay. I should’ve b-been more prepared.”

Sora pulled his foot out of the water, shaking as much off as he could. He smiled reassuringly when Solari gave him a nervous glance and Lunam ducked his head in guilt.

He clapped his hands together loudly. “Alright! Soli, it seems we should work on your reaction time and instincts. You were doing great from what I saw- you just need to keep your eyes open and remember your stances. Lunam, you were great too. We just need to polish up your form and where you’re putting your weight.”

Lunam stood to attention and nodded. Solari picked up her dropped sword and turned to Sora. Silently, she searched for reassurance. He responded with a wider grin and pat her shoulder gently.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is a little bit longer than the last! I hope you all enjoyed  
> Here's some art of Solari and Lunam I did!  
> https://midlstrit.tumblr.com/post/181627183183/in-light-of-my-recent-motivation-to-start-up-the  
> And then some mildly older art of Sora  
> https://midlstrit.tumblr.com/post/181303907233/for-the-new-peeps-here-i-have-a-futureau-for-kh


	5. Tough Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora and Riku need to talk out some lingering issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit longer than last time! Sorry it took so long to update!

Sora was upset for multiple reasons. One such reason was on Solari’s behalf. The other Masters kept the two of them at home more often than not. He wasn’t allowed to take her to Radiant Garden on the weekends without everyone else’s permission. Only Disney Castle was allowed, but that got boring after a while.

Although the main reason he was angry was because it had been three weeks. Three  _ weeks _ of him  _ begging _ the King, Riku, Terra, and Aqua to let him take Solari out to a new world. 

They all said no. “It’s too dangerous,” they said. “We don’t want you to get hurt fighting another pureblood,” they said. Sora was a patient man. He agreed and backed off to try again another day. But after  _ three weeks _ of bringing up  _ very valid _ points as to why Solari should be able to go out at this point had become grating. The reason that Lunam hadn’t gone with Riku on a patrol was everyone’s paranoia. Once they got over that, they were all for Lunam going headlong into danger.

Sora suggested that he take Solari out as well. She loved to explore every world he brought her to. Going out to somewhere like Agrabah would definitely be a blast. She’d love the treats and sights and people…!

“No.”

Sora groaned and grabbed his head in anguish. “Rikuu _ uuuu _ ! Come  _ on! _ You and Lunam go out almost every week! He only went out for the first time  _ three weeks _ ago! I should be able to take Solari with me when I go to Agrabah in a couple days.”

His friend had his arms folded and a firm expression on his face. “It’s dangerous, Sora. Lunam’s been training for over six months now. He’s capable enough to stay by my side and take care of himself if things get rough.”

Sora stood upright, unable to help the scowl that entered his eyes. “Solari is capable, too. She’s connecting more and more with her Light every day. I’d even say that she is  _ more _ in tune with her Keyblade than Lunam. She’s more than ready to go out to a new world with me where I don’t expect to find any purebloods.”

Riku’s brows drew together slowly. Sora hadn’t meant to insult Lunam’s abilities while trying to justify Solari’s, but it was too late to turn back. He’d just have to step away if it turned into an argument.

“It’s too dangerous,” Riku growled through gritted teeth. “Light or not, it might not be enough. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

“I am more than capable enough to protect the  _ both _ of us if needed. You know I can.”

“I  _ do _ know. I also know that you’ve been fighting more powerful Heartless than the rest of us. What if a Duskflier decides to attack the city? Or a Darkside rises from the Cave of Wonders?”

Sora clenched his fists. He didn’t want to argue with him, but  _ man _ was he making it hard not to. 

“Riku, you know this isn’t fair. Solari has been working just as hard as Lunam. And I can easily take care of any Heatless that tries to attack us. You  _ know _ it’ll be safe!”

His best friend glowered over him. Sora tried his best to stand his ground - to not let Riku win over in their silent battle. His fists clenched at his side and his eyes narrowed stubbornly. Neither said anything for a long while. It became a pure staring contest for a good minute. As each second passed, however, Sora found it harder to maintain eye-contact. Riku was towering over his shorter frame, irises shimmering in the shadows cast across his face. The aura of a rock-solid surface radiating from him was only strengthened by his broad shoulders.

Sora mustered up as much courage as he could. He straightened his spine and tried to maintain a cool and composed expression. But it was hard when anyone could see that Riku could snap someone like a twig if he wanted to.

Eventually, Sora caved and turned away. Riku huffed in satisfaction and immediately looked less intimidating. 

He didn’t grace Sora with any parting words. Just gazed for an agonizing couple seconds longer before he turned and walked away. Undoubtedly he was off to tell the other “ _ leaders _ ” that Sora was getting impatient. As if he was a damn child that needed to be  _ scolded _ .

An old feeling of bitterness washed over Sora’s tongue. He had to bite it down to keep from crying out in frustration. His hands trembled as his nails dug into his palms.

Sora’s eyes misted over at an alarming rate. His gut wrenched at the idea of breaking down in the hallway. Without wasting time he marched outside of the castle, head low and shoulders hunched. 

Damn it…! Why did Riku always make him feel like this? Why did all of the “ _ adults _ ” have to treat him like a toddler?! He was just as powerful as any of them. He had been training just as hard! He didn’t go through twenty-six years of life (twelve of them with a magic key) to be treated like this. He could damn well take his student out to a completely safe city if he pleased! They had no right to keep him or Solari cooped up in these “safe” worlds!

Sora found himself making a portal and walking through it. He didn’t have a destination in mind. Usually, Kingdom Key would sort that out for him. This was no exception as he continued to stew and march onward.

What was even more frustrating was how it always brought him to tears. Old feelings of jealousy and anger came bubbling up out of their bottle. No emotions had any right to do that after he thought he sorted through them! He and Riku were equals now!

Weren’t they?

The thought made him pause. Sora stared at the grass curling beneath his boots. He knew, in the back of his mind, that he was in a familiar world. One of the chunks of land that didn’t have any ruling species or laws. He often went to them to clear his head or vent.

But this didn’t feel like one of those times. The question still swirled around his thoughts like a churning vortex. 

Were he and Riku equals?

The obvious answer was yes. They had always tried to outdo each other, even as kids. Neck-and-neck. Rivals. Sora knew that in a pinch he could beat his best friend. Hell, he had done so multiple times. And he also knew that Riku could slap some sense into him as well. It was a certain balance that they kept between them.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that wasn’t true.  _ Riku _ was named Master first. Sora should have gained that title as well. Hell, he had been through  _ more _ that Riku had. He had been worthy of his Keyblade when Riku had rejected it outright. He had been through a dozen worlds searching for his friends while Riku plotted behind the scenes. Of course, Sora isn’t mad at him for that, but the hole in his heart had never quite filled. There was always that lingering hurt that his best friend- his  _ brother _ \- hadn’t trusted him enough.

That wasn’t even the end of it. Riku was the  _ outstanding _ one. Aqua accepted his council while brushing Sora off completely. Terra nodded in agreement with  _ him _ while ruffling Sora’s hair. King Mickey just didn’t listen to Sora at all. No one did.

Did anyone really listen to him?

_ Young one, enough of that. _

Sora jolted. He hadn’t realized that he had sit down against a large tree. His legs were pulled close to his chest and his head buried behind his arms. When had he started crying?

_ Your allies trust and care for you, _ King continued, its voice gentle and soothing.  _ Admittedly, they see not your current and future form, but the young child you once were. However, they  _ do _ still care. You need only show them patience. _

Sora scoffed and clenched his hands tighter on his elbows. “Yeah, show them the patience they show me? Like-like they’re talking to a fucking  _ five-year-old _ ?”

King was silent at that. Sora knew it would be. After all, he only used such foul language when he was in a  _ really _ shitty mood. It was the kind of thing that built up over the course of, perhaps,  _ three weeks. _

He went back to his frustration. Hopeless realizations came to him as he thought over every time the others had coddled him. His inability to make them listen was more infuriating than any foe he had come across before.

Sora recalled maybe a couple times they had truly listened to him. Truly seen him for the young, skilled Keyblade Master he was. The one that had been through literal Hell and back several times over and had come out scarred.

The most recent was after the Queen. That Heartless and her generals had been nearly impossible foes for them to defeat. When it came down to the line,  _ Sora _ was the one to deal the final blow. 

He remembered that day. Eight thin, bony legs that cracked the earth underneath their claws. A spider’s abdomen with a woman’s torso sewn at the head. Scales and spines, clicking with movement and raising high in threat. Dozens of eyes swiveled to look at him as he approached with no one else by his side. The biting chill of the Realm of Darkness ate at his skin, seeping into the open wounds on his body.

Roxas’ head whipped around to him. His tired, bruised eyes widened in sheer terror. He kicked and screamed and fought against the tendrils holding him. He begged for Sora to run away and get somewhere safe. Even Riku, who was convulsing and covered in black lightning, managed to look horrified at the sight of him.

Sora forced himself to ignore their choked cries. He stared dead-ahead at the monstrosity before him. The torn, ripped mouths bore their teeth across the Queen’s body in a hundred grins. 

“ _ Well, well…! _ ” she whispered, her words cold as ice and patched together with countless voices. “ _ What do we have here? Another ssssspark come for the ssslaughter?” _

Roxas cried his name. Sora’s fists clenched at his sides - nails biting into his bloodied palms. Shadows writhed from their place and inched towards him.

Snakes shot forth from their dens. They entangled his throat and yanked him forward to their Queen. Sora choked and instinctively reached upwards as a biting cold gripped his heart.

He was raised up, feet dragging across stones until they dangled ten meters above. Sora’s vision was immediately met with pure gold that bore into his soul. Cold, yellow, lifeless orbs gazed into his own with nothing but contempt.

Its jaw unhinged in a twisted, broken smile. A glowing red tongue rolled out of its mouth and dripped with acid. It flicked forward like a snake, flinging drops of the scorching saliva onto Sora’s cheeks. A strangled cry of pain attempted to rise past the tendril cutting off his air to no avail.

“ _ Oh, you look ssssssso delectable, _ ” the Queen purred. “ _ A preciousss little light with sssso much darkness in it. _ ”

“ _ LET HIM GO! _ ” Roxas screamed, voice cracking with rage and terror.

He was ignored as the Queen reached forward. Spot’s danced in Sora’s vision, lungs screaming for oxygen. His hands grasped for any purchase against the dark snakes around his neck.

A single, delicate claw traced down his face. It burned and spread needles of ice across Sora’s cheek. His pain went unheard over his struggles for air.

“ _ I am going to  _ love _ taking you apart. Ssssssseeing jusst what makesss your heart tick. _ ”

The talon lifted and inched its way downwards. Roxas roared, kicked, screeched,  _ begged _ for it to let him go. 

His pleas went unheard as Sora’s vision blackened. As the Queen drew out the shadows in his heart.

All he remembered after that was screaming. Shrieking agony echoing in his ears as pure, red-hot rage filled his veins. It was all dark. Blurry figures passed by his vision, and he lunged at them without second thought. It hurt- it all hurt  _ so much _ . Despair and agony that had been building for a year was released in one blood-boiling moment.

He remembered the pain of old wounds. Remembered watching as the darkness began to overtake worlds over and over again. He wanted to scream and cry and fight and beg. They had been fighting that war for over a year, and Sora only wanted it to stop.

His memory cleared once it was over. Once the fury had run its course and left ashes in its wake. Something had been clutching him. Something he didn’t recognize, didn’t know what it was, wanted it to  _ let go let go of him-! _

“ _ It’s okay. It’s okay now, Sora. I’m here.” _

Sora froze, glowing eyes widening in realization. His bloodied claws lowered. He knew that voice. Knew the hands on his back and their familiar embrace.

To this day, he could still hear Roxas’ screams as his Rage tore it all to shreds.

_ SORA. Snap out of it, young one! _

He jolted, eyes snapping open as a rush of warmth flooded through his bones. Air heaved into his lungs as his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. Sora’s eyes darted around. He was in a forest. Not on a plateau with those damned shadows writhing around him. He wasn’t drenched it blood. Wasn’t screaming until his throat went raw. He was safe. Safe and alone.

Sora forced his fingers to unclench around his sleeves. His joints were stiff from the force of his grip. He shook out his hands, forcing deep breaths until his heart rate calmed. He wasn’t there. He was here, not there.

Five things, he thought. Five things he could see. The grass, trees, the bushes, sunlight, and the sky. He could hear birds, wind, his own breathing and heart…

_ There you go, young one.  _ King’s voice chimed softly in his head.  _ I am sorry you had to relive that. _

Sora scrubbed at his eyes. A deep sense of exhaustion sunk into him as he gazed blankly at his hands.

He had “disappeared” for two months after that. No one knew where he had gone or what he was doing. All he told anyone was that he needed some time to think. To reflect on what he had done in order to win that harsh battle for them. And more importantly, to learn to accept a part of him he had often shunned.

When he had returned, they listened. They fussed and worried, of course, but they listened. He proposed patrols and routes and the occasional vacation. Longer missions and goals they could work towards in order to reclaim parts of the Realm of Light.

That had been four years ago. Routes had changed, goals had been met, and patrols had been completed. Sora didn’t have much say on where anyone went anymore. Often times he got texts telling him to alter his path to a different world. One that was less sketchy and dangerous. He felt like a doll being chucked in every direction that kept him as far from harm’s way as possible.

Sora’s fists clenched at the idea. Before thinking better of it, he punched the ground beside him.

A small shockwave travelled around him. A root of the tree he was sitting against splintered into pieces as it became a crater. Lightning, a brilliant pale crimson, arched from his fingertips and curled viciously towards the plant life around him. Sora didn’t particularly care that some underbrush had been set ablaze by his Light. The resulting sound broke the fragile silence of the forest with a deafening  _ crack _ .

He folded back into himself and grit his teeth. It was just all so  _ frustrating-! _

A gentle gust of wind blew out the fire. Sora felt it tousle his hair in a playful manner and give just enough of a chill to be refreshing.

God _ damn it _ . He knew that wind from anywhere.

Sora scrubbed at his face desperately, pulling up mental walls as quick as he could and masking any emotion visible. Anything could give him away- more than he already had.

The person was nearly silent as they sat easily next to him. Their mere presence gave off a soft warmth that encased his shell in an embrace. Unwillingly, Sora relaxed.

“Hey, bud,” Ventus began, far too casually, “how ya feeling?’

Sora made a sharp  _ tsk _ sound and turned away. He buried himself further and scowled at nothing in particular.

Ven didn’t say anything else for a while. For a  _ long _ while. He didn’t tell him it was okay or reprimand him for acting like this. He just sat in silence, comforting him with his Light. Sora tried to stay wound up- stay angry at the world and continue to pout. But it was practically impossible when Ventus was there with infinite understanding and patience.

It was frustrating all over again. Sora’s eyes welled up with tears and he grit his teeth.

“For the love of- just  _ say _ something!” he spat, voice wobbling and unsteady. “Anything! Tell-tell me I’m acting dumb! Tell me that-that everyone  _ cares _ and they don’t m-mean to make me feel like this! Say that it-it’s okay and pat me on the head and make it all feel better!”

Ven stared at him softly. His greenish eyes were like a calm, tropical ocean that Sora grew up by. It only served to spike his emotions.

“ _ Anything! _ S-say they’re dumb! Say that you and Kairi are the only ones that understand me! Promise to have a talk with them or-or tell me to be stronger!  _ Please, _ I-I can’t take this damned silence.”

He did his best to stop himself from crying, but a few stray tears still fell down his cheeks. Sora furiously wiped them away, ashamed that he had even gotten so worked up over such a little thing. He had been through so much without so much as wavering, and now here he was. Crying over not being listened to.

Sora expected a hand on his shoulder. Some words that it was okay and all of that. What he didn’t expected was Ventus to very gently pull him into a hug. Wrapping his arms around his shoulders and keeping him close. The mental shell Sora built up came crumbling down at the amount of warmth that overcame him.

Hesitantly, his own hands snaked up to Ven’s back and rested there. After receiving no reprimanding, his fingers clenched around fistfuls of cloth. He buried his head in the crook of the blond’s neck.

Ventus slowly carded his hand through Sora’s unruly hair. The silence stretched onward, but it felt welcome this time.

After several more long moments, Ven spoke.

“I’m sorry, bud,” he whispered. His voice was quiet enough that Sora would’ve barely caught it if he wasn’t so close. “I know I’ve been treating you like that sometimes, too. And I’m sorry I don’t help you find your voice among the ‘adults.’ It’s hard for me, too, to get seen like an equal. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have known how much it would get to you.”

Sora shook his head. “S’ not your fault.” he mumbled. “You’re probably the toughest around an’ no one really notices.”

Ventus’ chuckle rumbled in his chest. The sound was light and comforting. “Nah, I’m not the toughest.”

“Don’t be modest. Makes the rest of us look bad.”

That earned another laugh- this one more heartfelt. His friend pat his head a couple times.

A lapse in conversation formed once again. Sora allowed himself to fully relax and breathed a heavy sigh of contentment. Ventus always gave the best hugs- whether it be from their decade together in Sora’s heart or his loving personality. 

He closed his eyes and better thought over his issue. Of course, the logical thing would be to talk to them. But he had tried that before, and things went back not a week later. 

Ugh, why did this have to be complicated? He wasn’t a petty person, so of course he wouldn’t take  _ that _ path to being heard. Nor could he muster up the will to be forceful and impatient. 

Another sigh fell from his chest.  _ What would Master Lotus do? _ he found himself thinking.

Master Lotus. Someone Sora had only known for two months, but had changed his life forever. A man of infinite wisdom and experience. One who was locked in an eternal battle with the wolves of his past. When they had first met, Sora was a broken mess that showed up bloody and weak on his doorstep. Master Lotus had shown him patience and gently pulled him from his own mental pit. He taught him so many things in their short time together. How to fight with different weapons, how to navigate through the snow, how to cook; and most importantly: how to take care of himself.

Oh, how Sora wished he could talk with him again. To ask for advice on teaching and how to better himself. What, he wondered, would Master Lotus say to him to guide him forward?

_ Well, _ Kingdom Key chimed, having sensed his thoughts,  _ I imagine he would tell you to show them why they should listen. _

Sora paused.

_ Show them why… they should listen. _

“Ven, I’m going to need you to trust me.”

The blond looked down at him in alarm. “Trust you? With what?”

Sora tightened his hold on the other for a moment before dislodging completely. He took a steady lungful of air before sitting upright and meeting Ven’s eyes.

He didn’t vocally explain himself. He only used their vague connection to send the general concept of his plan. Ventus’ expression morphed into confusion, shock, then disapproval in the span of a second before turning into concern.

“Uh, are you sure you-?”

Sora didn’t let him finish. He stood up abruptly and summoned his Keyblade. Whom of which, of course, had an opinion on his idea.

_ I’m sure this isn’t what I meant. _

Sora didn’t deign that with a reply.

…

Riku was with Lunam in the training grounds, showing him how to properly deflect an attack while Solari and Kairi were practicing magic. Lea and Isa had stopped by to spectate and were enjoying lemonade on the side.

To put it simply, none of them were expecting the hurricane that was Sora. Their only warning was a boom of thunder that startled everyone out of their skin. 

“ _ RIKU! _ ”

Riku froze - his fight or flight response shooting through the roof. Static ran over his skin and made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He knew that voice was Sora, but he had never heard that level of anger directed at him before. It was terrifying and had Riku’s mind racing at what he had done to earn that.

_ Oh, shit, _ Riku thought.  _ Maybe I should’ve given him a chance to talk. _

Braveheart made a sound similar to a scoff.  _ The boy needs to understand that he is not ready. _

Before Riku could defend his friend, the culprit of the shout came into view.

In all their years together, Riku had only seen Sora wreathed in power like this twice before. His very being was alight as he marched on a warpath. Lightning flickered across his skin and his eyes blazed with furious fire. The aura he put off was like a raging inferno that threatened to burn down everything around it.

Riku paled when he felt that inferno being directed at him with the pinpoint accuracy of a sniper.

“FIGHT ME!” Sora roared, making long and tall strides towards the practice ring. He saw Kairi and Solari stand from their place under a tree, the latter of them looking very confused.

Ventus struggled to keep up with his fast pace. “Hey-hey Sora, calm down, will ya? I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Sora ignored him, staring right at his target. The kids were wisely being ushered away by Kairi, who had a very clear idea of what Sora had in mind. That was good, Sora thought. Things might get a little messy.

“What’s going on?” Riku called out cautiously. Though he was tensing as Sora approached.

Lea chuckled mischievously and sipped at his drink, as if the aura of pure  _ murder _ radiating from Sora wasn’t there. “Oh-ho-ho, it’s about time.”

“Time for what?” Isa asked, more on edge than his companion.

“Dude, you spend almost as much time as I do with Roxas. I’m surprised you couldn’t see Sora bubbling up with frustration for the past month. He’s long overdue to beat the hell out of  _ one _ of us.”

Sora ignored them and kept charging forward. Ven had stopped trying to stop his warpath and instead stayed several paces behind. He was likely going to play mediator if things got out of hand.

Their spectators backed away to a safe distance. It probably wasn’t far enough, all things considered. But Sora would take their duel to the mountains to make sure that no harm would come to them. 

“Fight me, Riku!” Sora shouted, distracted by his own surge of anger.

His best friend stared, wary and most likely unwilling. But Sora didn’t care. Kingdom Key answered his biting call and didn’t flinch at his iron grip.

_ I won’t advocate violence, child, _ King began,  _ but I will not stop you. I only advise thinking it through. _

_ Oh, I’m thinking it through. _ Sora growled back.  _ I’m thinking about how mad I am that Riku is always the star student. How I can’t take my student on a simple trip to Agrabah while he and Lunam can go kill Heartless in the woods. I’m thinking about how it’s been too many damn years for this shit. _

There was a quiet sigh of resignation in his head. But that was soon buried by the overpowering roar of agreement from somewhere dark in his heart. That roar also decided that the time for talking was over.

He lunged, shooting across the twenty meter space between him and Riku in an instant. Only through years of training and instinct did Riku raise his weapon to block in time. The clash caused a shockwave of energy to rush throughout the grounds as dust flew.

Sora pushed forward in their struggle, surprising Riku with his ferocity. He had to adjust his footing to avoid being tossed back.

“H-hold on!” Riku gasped, “a-are you for real?!”

He got a toothy grin in response.

Sora slipped around and aimed another strike at Riku’s side. He whirled to deflect the blow, sliding backwards from the force. 

An expression akin to realization came over Riku’s features. He seemed to understand that this was going to be one of their infamous “talks.” One that needed real planning and effort if he wanted to come out unscathed.

Sora dashed forward again, Light empowering his steps and sending him flying across the grounds. Knowing he wasn’t faster, his opponent raised a Reflect in front of himself to try and block the strike. 

Faster than a blink, he changed course and darted around the barrier. Riku barely had time to realize his mistake before Kingdom Key was sailing towards him. The resulting clash kicked up a cloud of dirt.

Instinct screamed through him, prompting a leap into the air. Not a moment later a cleave of Light slammed into the earth where he had just been.

Sora jumped after him with lightning curled across his body. Stuck mid-air, the Blade landed a solid hit on Riku’s midsection. A clap of thunder followed him as he was sent flying into the mountains.

Riku turned midair, grit his teeth, and called upon his own Light for assistance. The earthen pillars he sailed towards shifted and groaned before a column of rock shot outwards to catch him. It molded like liquid underneath his boots, absorbing his impact seamlessly. 

He skated across the surface, the wind whipping his long hair and dirt flying around him. Like a bolt of lightning, Sora was coming after him. He cursed and leapt to the next ringed mountain to keep up the distance.

_ He’s trying to get you in the air, _ Braveheart noted as Sora stayed below. Sure enough, there was a bolt of lightning that nearly zapped Riku if he hadn’t dodged.

_ We can’t let him. _ He replied. The sky was Sora’s territory. If he let himself get stuck there without any easy to access earth, it was over. The reverse needed to happen if Riku wanted a solid win.

Damn, Sora was serious about this. He better make sure that he didn’t break something in this fight.

He was too caught up in planning to fully avoid a bolt from below. It grazed his side, piercing through his skin and sending a wave of static through his nerves. A choked sound of pain burst through his lips as the earth beneath his feet turned to dirt.

Sora was on him in an instant. As Riku plummeted into the forests below, a crimson blur zipped beneath him. His muscles refused to cooperate and react to the powerful, solid kick that hit his gut.

Air whipped around him as he flew into the clouds. Riku straightened himself out, the pain of the blow drowned in adrenaline. Sora tried for another hit with his Keyblade, but he was ready this time. Braveheart instantly defended him against it before seamlessly retaliating. It found its mark and forced his opponent to retreat into the sky. 

Riku only then realized that he was falling again. He cursed, realized that Sora was coming in for another attack, and brought up a Reflect to shield himself. The impact sent him sideways and further away from the castle. 

He rightened himself and glared Sora. As he approached, he raised his Blade. Before his friend could attack he flipped to the side, using a controlled Aero to propel himself. He struck as his opponent passed, sending him plummeting into the forests below. 

Braveheart was enveloped in frost. With a flick, a pillar of snow and ice shot downwards and into the fresh crater. 

Riku landed smoothly, using a wave of rocks to slide onto ground level. The trees around Sora’s impact site were broken, bent, and covered in a thin sheet of ice. He started to worry that he might’ve overdone it was that last Blizzaga…

_ Look sharp, Warrior, _ Braveheart murmured.  _ The boy is not in sight. _

His eyes raked over the scene. Sure enough, no spiky brown hair was in sight. There wasn’t even an outline of a form in the ice, which meant that he hadn't been hit at all. 

Cautiously, Riku stepped forward, keeping his gaze on the foliage around him. If Sora had been hurt, then he could’ve sensed his Light somewhere nearby. But it was nowhere to be seen- which could only mean that he was hiding. 

The trees behind him rustled. Riku whirled, but the culprit was already gone. The hairs on his body stood on end with a charge of static electricity in the air. He wasn’t used to just using his eyes to find someone. Everyone emitted an aura of life that could be tracked. But with that concealed, he felt blind.

A twig snapped to his left. Riku tensed, his grip on his Keyblade tightening. Seconds felt like hours as his eyes combed the area. 

His skin crawled as a piercing set of eyes bore into his back. He whipped around and raised his weapon just in time to block the flash of silver that came at him.

Riku slid back with the force of the blow, gritting his teeth. Sora pressed forward relentlessly on the other side of the struggle. 

He took a hasty gasp for air and tried to smile at his friend. “D-do you wanna talk about it?” he tried, having a hard time formulating a sentence in their predicament.

Sora glared at him, brows knit in a very un-Sora-like expression.

“Let me make my own choices,” Sora hissed through his teeth.

Riku grunted and slid apart from the weapons. He danced backwards to avoid another swipe, but made no move to retaliate.

“I am! I’m just saying I worry about you!” Riku potested. Not a second later Sora lunged again. He parried and dodged the slashes sent his way.

“And I’m-” another blow “-just saying that  _ you _ -” he ducked and stepped back “-don't  _ need _ to worry!”

Riku dove underneath a horizontal swipe, coming up behind Sora in a crouch. He reached forward before his opponent could react and grasped his wrist. Immediately a kick was sent his way, but he twisted to the side to avoid it. He wrenched Sora’s hand back and pressed with Braveheart in the other direction. Sora was forced to drop Kingdom Key, but not before socking Riku in the jaw with his left hand.

He grunted and stumbled back, instinctively reaching up as pain shot through his face. He felt his weapon get pried out of his fingers while he was stunned. His Keyblade disappeared before hitting the ground in a dissatisfied huff.

Riku looked back up to see Sora in a fighting stance. His fists were drawn close and he bounced on the balls of his feet.

_ We’re doing this now? _ Riku thought to himself. He brought his hands up and shook out his shoulders a bit. The fight was starting to wear him down - with dull pain starting to roll across his body.

“And  _ I’m _ ,” Riku continued breathlessly, “ _ just saying _ that I will  _ always _ worry about you. It’s what I do.”

Sora heaved a couple lungfuls of air. In their small moment of reprise, Riku could see blooming bruises across his face and arms. They were both getting a little scuffed up.

“Yeah, but you’re being kinda overbearing about it.” Sora smiled weakly, trying to be light even though they were in the middle of a fight.

Riku frowned. “Shit, I am?”

“Language.”

“Sorry, dude.” Riku ignored his remark. “I don’t mean to be a jerk.”

Sora shrugged, still hopping in place. Instead of continuing the conversation he lunged, going for a straight punch. Riku ducked underneath it and jabbed at his gut. Sora bounced back before any could hit and twisted, bringing a full mid-height roundhouse straight into Riku’s ribs. His metal heel stabbed into his side, knocking the wind out of him with a distinct  _ crack _ sound. 

He gasped for air, resisting every urge to clutch at his surely fractured bones. Sora looked alarmed for a moment, implying that he probably didn’t mean to hit that hard.

Riku bit down on the pain. He lunged, taking advantage of his friend’s shock to deliver a right hook to his cheek. Sora staggered to the side and reached up to his injury. He didn’t have any time to recover before Riku grabbed his left arm and twisted Sora over his shoulder like a ragdoll. In and instant he was slammed onto the ground, air rushing out of his chest.

Riku staggered back, each breath feeling like a needle stabbing into his lungs. He watched Sora pick himself up, grimacing and holding his left arm delicately. He spat out a mouthful of sweat, dirt, and blood before getting back onto his feet.

“Y- _ you- _ ” Riku wheezed a couple times before continuing. “You are being a-a  _ shit _ about it sometim-times…”

“Hah?!” Sora looked disbelieving and on the brink of exhaustion.

“I’m  _ trying _ to-to reason and whatever, but you’re not-” he coughed “-not  _ explaining _ yourself properly! I thought you wanted to-to go see the Cave of Wonders or something! For the past three weeks you-you’ve just been saying ‘ _ go to Agrabah _ ’ like I know  _ exactly _ where you mean!”

Sora ran his right hand through his sweaty bangs. “Well, damn…!”

Riku nodded in agreement. 

There was a lapse of silence between them, filled only by their own pants and the occasional melting, falling branch. Riku was tempted to cast Cure, but he was too tired to really care. It would take too much out of him anyways.

Eventually Sora spoke again. “I’m still gonna kick your ass all the way back home.”

Riku chuckled dryly, wincing when it sent more pain into his ribs. “I’d like to see you try.”

In hindsight, Riku really shouldn’t have said that. Because for the next five minutes it was a brawl. They both recalled their Keyblades and dueled properly for a bit before magic was being thrown. Once they couldn’t muster up mana it was just a wrestling match. Dignity was discarded to make way for biting, yanking, and kicking.

At some point, Sora had Riku’s hood in his teeth and his foot shoving his chest. While the other had him pinned, pushing him back with a hand on his collar and struggled to untangle himself.

Sora tried to kick him over, but didn’t have the energy to do it. Riku pushed him back further, attempting to free his jacket.

“ _ Stop!” _

The two were frozen in place, limbs encased by an invisible force. Both paled when they recognized the tone of voice being directed at them. Their eyes shifted over to the source.

A certain blue-haired woman was marching towards them with an expression filled with parental disappointment and anger. Behind her was a sheepish Ven and confused Terra.

Sora and Riku glanced at each other. Immediately the eldest of the two spoke up.

“Aqua, it’s not what it looks like.” he said through frozen teeth.

She didn’t reply to that. Her face morphed to disbelief and back to anger within a second.

“‘ _ Not what it looks like? _ ’” She repeated incredulously. “Are you sure? Because this looks exactly what that would look like!”

“We were-”

“FIGHTING.  _ Again _ !”

Both men winced. Aqua stomped forward more and glowered over the two of them. Without breaking eye-contact she gestured furiously to the forest around them.

“Not only were you two  _ fighting _ , but you’re wrecking ancient lands!” Aqua yelled. “Do you have any idea how old these trees are?! What kind of rules you’ve broken by using them as  _ punching bags _ ?”

“Six?” Sora tried weakly. Riku had to stifle a laugh before they got in even more trouble.

Aqua didn’t find it amusing. She stomped her foot, and beneath it a burst of magic curled outwards. The trees that had been broken began to stand up and sew their bark back together. They tilted a bit towards the unfixed crater in the center, but Terra was quick to use his own magic to fix that.

Sora and Riku looked around as their wreckage field reverted back to an untouched state. Neither realized that there had been a bush on fire ten feet away before it was put out.

“Do you two even realize how much you’ve  _ hurt _ each other?” Aqua continued. “Sora, your left shoulder is dislocated and you have a sprained ankle! Riku, you have two fractured ribs! I thought we all agreed that you two fighting each other was a BAD IDEA.”

She threw her hands in the air hopelessly. “Riku, you should know better! And Sora, what is it this time that got you so riled up?”

They glanced at each other again. There was a silent conversation before Riku nodded (well, as much as he could while frozen stiff).

He looked up and met Aqua’s gaze steadily.

“We need to have a talk.”


	6. Desert Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora takes Solari out to her first official new world, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

Having Riku on his side for once was a great feeling. Especially when Sora wanted to do something the others probably wouldn’t agree to. It was also good because Riku was way more of a diplomat and knew how to word things. 

Sora admitted that he didn’t come up with a full plan. Just that he wanted to go to Agrabah and wander around the city with Solari. With Riku and Ven there, it was easy to iron out the details. They were very strict details, but at least he had some say in them.

It was strange, really, to have Riku shoot Aqua a venomous look when she took a breath to interrupt him. He honestly felt bad. They were just trying to keep him safe. It was just the way they went about it that was suffocating. Not letting him speak, giving orders, and even ruffling his hair. They had been doing that for years, really.

Eventually, everyone present settled on a plan (the others who weren’t home, Roxas, Xion, and Namine, just contributed via text). Sora and Solari were allowed to go  _ just _ into the city and nowhere else. They agreed to leave at noon and be home by six. While some part of Sora wanted to go to the Cave of Wonders, he knew better than to push his luck and put the two of them in unnecessary danger. He could agree with everyone on that one thing; Solari wasn’t ready for a real fight. Not yet.

He skipped through the halls and towards the courtyard. The two students were usually around there on their free period. Once, Sora had caught them curled up under a tree with books in each of their laps- both being deep in sleep. Solari’s head had been on Lunam’s shoulder while he leaned against the tree. Sora hasn’t had the heart to wake them up for their next lesson and let them sleep for that afternoon.

That wasn’t how he found them today, however. Instead, they were near one of the benches just past the stairs. Lunam was trying his best to make a snowman using Blizzards while Solari cheered him on. 

Shockingly, the two weren’t alone. A certain Dream Eater was standing nearby, packing in the snow with their tiny paws. The whole sight was bizarre and had Sora gaping for a moment.

The students had only recently met Chirithy, despite having been at the castle for some time. The tiny cat had been quite aloof and shy - choosing instead to hang around Ven and disappear when the kids were close. Only after much coaxing from the blond, Chirithy decided to meet them formally. 

Solari had been overjoyed to meet them. Only her own nervousness kept her from lunging forward and scooping them into her arms; while Lunam had proved more curious than anything. He peered at Chirithy with thoughtful eyes and examined every bit of them. The poor Dream Eater was incredibly awkward and had slowly inched back behind Ventus’ leg.

“ _ A Dream Eater? _ ” Lunam had asked, looking up at Riku for answers.

He nodded. “ _ Yep. They’re creatures that live in the Realm of Sleep. Except Chirithy is a special Dream Eater that hangs around here.” _

“ _ Oh! I remember reading about special spirit companions that Keybearers used to have way back when. Is Chirithy one of them?” _

_ “Right on target, bud! _ ”

Sora shook off the memory and hopped down the stairs. Chirithy looked up, probably having noticed him first. The two students turned their attention next and smiled in greeting. Though Solari almost immediately looked sheepishly away and rubbed her head. It took Sora a second to remember that they were supposed to be out here practicing their finesse with blizzard spells and not making snowmen out of the failed attempts. It was a good thing Sora didn’t care to reprimand them. Lunam would probably find a loophole with their instructions, anyways.

Lunam stood up, frost falling from his blue hair, and gestured to the knee-high snowman.

“What do you think?” he asked proudly. Sora took a second to appreciate the twigs, rocks, and crude smiley face in front of him.

He grinned and hopped down the last few steps. “Looks fantastic! You guys did a great job.”

Solari beamed. Lunam, attempting to preserve their creation (probably so Riku could check it out), cast Blizzard. It only partially succeeded, coating where his hand had been in a few centimeters of ice before thinning and spreading out across the snowman. Not bad for a first try.

Chirithy took a couple tiny steps back and looked up at Sora. “What did everyone say?”

His student stood up, her smile fading into a nervous frown. Her hands clasped in front of her, and she started gnawing at her lip. Sora hated that she could get anxious so easily. So to avoid having her like that for long, he let his face light up and spread his arms.

“They said yes!”

Instantly, Solari’s expression brightened. She let out a small sigh and went to rubbing her arms. Lunam grinned and patted her shoulder gently.

“You s-said we were going to Ag-Agrabah right?” Solari asked timidly. “That’s the-the desert world?”

 “Yup! We’re only going around the city so we won’t run into any Heartless. We can even buy some knicknacks if you want.”

Solari clapped in excitement before a thoughtful expression came over her face. She tilted her head and put a finger up to her chin.

“Should I, um… bring a hat?”

Sora paused for a moment, processing her words, before he burst into laughter. Solari looked startled for a second before she started fiddling with her hair. Her eyes darted to Lunam as he started chuckling too- her face turning red with embarrassment.

“...Dumb question…” she mumbled to herself.

Immediately, Sora’s joy faded to guilt. “Oh, no no no. That wasn’t a dumb question at all!”

She didn’t seem to buy it. Without thinking, Sora pulled her into a hug to prove he wasn’t making fun of her. She was tense for a second before relaxing into his arms. He did his best to quell his laughter and pat her head.

“That’s a really smart question, kiddo!” Sora said. “I wish  _ I _ had thought of that when I first visited! I was sunburnt for  _ days! _ ”

Lunam snickered behind his hand. “You mean you  _ didn’t _ pack sunscreen?”

“Hey! It wasn’t like I had a duffel bag full of sunblock and hats. All I had was a magic duck who barely managed to keep us from overheating.”

Chirithy shook their head. Sora diverted his attention for a moment, giving Solari a chance to wriggle away.

“It’s a wonder how you survived,” Chirithy murmured.

“Hey!”

The kids laughed at his expense. Sora pretended to pout - even folding his arms to sell the look. They didn’t have long to keep teasing, however. Only a moment later did Aqua poke her head out of the castle, calling the two students for their math lesson. Solari and Lunam hurried inside (clearly having forgotten about class) while waving goodbye. Sora was tempted to join them, but felt a soft pat on his leg before he could. A quick glance showed a certain fuzzy friend looking up expectantly.

He turned, waving to the students with a smile before shifting to the Dream Eater. They seemed to frown and reached to their nonexistent mouth in thought. Sora crouched down to be at eye-level and waited patiently for them to speak.

“Are you  _ sure _ she’s ready?” Chirithy eventually asked. “She’s only been training for a month. You never know what kind of trouble you could get into.”

Sora bit his lip. “Even if she isn’t, I know Solari  _ needs _ to go out to new places. She’s got an adventurous spirit. Disney Castle doesn’t have a ton to offer, and she’s not allowed to leave the grounds there. Same thing goes for Radiant Garden.”

“But those are still new places with tons to explore,” Chirithy countered. Their tone wasn’t combative, thankfully. They were just bringing up a different point.

“Yeah, but…” Sora propped his chin on his hand. “She used to live in a city, and she  _ currently _ lives in the  _ castle _ . They’re the same as before. I mean, Agrabah is a whole new culture! It’s warm with bustling markets and sand and thief kings!”

Chirthy gave another frown. “Is that the  _ only _ reason?”

It was Sora’s turn to stare. “Well… no, I guess. I also wanna introduce her to all of my friends. Squ-  _ Leon _ \- and Cloud, Ienzo, Aeleus- everyone really enjoyed meeting her! And Kingdom Key says it’s good to get out to new worlds.”

_ I believe I said that it is wise to visit “every once in a while”, but continue. _

Chirithy shook their head in exasperation. “Keyblades… I remember a time when they  _ weren’t _ such bad influences.”

_ I beg your pardon?! _

Sora giggled. “Anyways, I’m sure everyone’s eager for some new adventures. If this goes well, I was hoping Kairi and I could give her tours of other worlds. Y’know, like a kind of… partial road trip? One that doesn’t involve not going home for ages.”

“You mean regular world visits.”

“I guess.”

Chirithy rolled their eyes again. “Okay. Just make sure you stay out of trouble, alright? You get into enough fights as it is. You don’t want to drag Solari into one of your ‘lightning storms,’ do you?”

Sora felt his blood run cold at the mere thought of it. He remembered the last time an alley fight had gotten out of hand. If Solari had been caught up in all of that rain and wind…

“Of course not!” he says all too quickly. 

Chirithy made a neutral  _ mmhm _ noise (which was impossible for Sora to determine the meaning of,) before their ear twitched to the side. After a second of listening, they sighed and stretched their arms back.

“Ventus is calling me back,” they said. “I’m gonna go. Remember, Sora: keep an eye on Solari. The best way to get everyone to trust you is to prove your responsibility, got it?”

Sora nodded dutifully. He watched as the Dream Eater waved goodbye, shivered with light, and warped away. 

On Monday, Sora would be glad he didn’t promise anything.

That morning, he woke up filled to the brim with excitement. He threw himself out of bed (waking up Kairi in the process) and nearly skipped breakfast in his haste to go outside. Every chore was rushed through before he was outside at about eight AM to wait for his student.

Solari came by earlier than normal, looking as anxious as Sora was excited. Her hair was messier than usual. Clearly, she had flown through her own routine, too.

They ran through training in record time- only taking one hour instead of two. But that didn’t help performance, really. Both of their forms were sloppy, and Sora subconsciously picked up his own openings as he ran through them. Honestly, he figured that even  _ Lunam _ could trip him up with how distracted he was.

Eventually, Kairi had come out, coffee mug in hand, and pointed out just how terribly they were doing. Sora sheepishly rubbed his head while his student shuffled in place. After a bit of whining, he agreed that they should go through them again. By the time that was finished, it was time for the student’s climbing class. That was also an impatient, anxiety-filled disaster. Thankfully Ven was there to calm Sora down, and Lunam helped ease Solari’s worries.

Lunch came around at noon. Sora and Roxas whipped up a decent meal, the latter half making the bulk of the food while the former added flourishes (the Little Chef had certainly helped him gain the skill years ago). Solari barely managed to finish most of her plate while Sora practically inhaled it.

Then finally, after what felt like ages, it was time for the two of them to head out. Sora was getting the mandatory “stay safe” speech from everyone. Even Ven had come by (from  _ wherever  _ it was he went when not on patrol) to give Sora a pat on the shoulder and comforting smile. 

Soon enough Sora was opening a direct portal to Agrabah and waving goodbye. If he was on his own, it would’ve been simpler to open a path to the Lanes Between. But Solari didn’t have any armor yet and having her try to perform that particular Keyblade transformation would’ve been impossible at her current skill level. Making a straight gate was more of a pain, but one he could live with.

Then in seconds, the two were blasted with a wave of heat and the bright sun in their eyes. 

Sora spread his arms with a wide grin. “Welcome to Agrabah!”

Solari’s expression was priceless. Something mixed between awe and shock at the sheer scale of the city. Sora had to admit that the view didn’t get old. There was an endless expanse of desert behind them, glittering in the sun. In front was the great city, framed by the royal palace and its gleaming rooftops. He could remember the view from above- soaring in the air on a carpet. It looked just as spectacular from that angle, too. 

He led his student past the gate and into the city. They were greeted with open shops and groups of citizens mulling about. Thankfully, the crowds weren’t going to settle in for a few hours. Most people got their shopping done in the cool morning or late evening. The few here were most likely using their lunch break to buy something nice or get a couple groceries. There were a some kids running around as well, kicking a ball back and forth.

As they entered the fold, Sora felt Solari press close to his side. He glanced down, seeing that she was grasping her bag tightly and eyeing every person that got too close. A small frown formed on his face.

Wordlessly, he reached and grabbed her hand. She instantly clutched onto him and relaxed quite a bit. 

While Sora was eager to show her some of his favorite spots (Aladdin’s old hideout, being one,) he knew it would be best to get introductions out of the way. At a brisk pace, he led them to the palace gates. The guards there instantly recognized his face and let them pass- only giving Solari a curious glance.

Upon walking into the front garden, he was greeted by one of the squires. A young lad he had never been able to learn the name of in his previous visits.

“Ah! Lord Sora!” the boy exclaimed. “Hello! What brings you here?”

Sora smiled, letting exasperation on his features. “Just Sora. Do you know where Aladdin is?”

“Oh, my apologies, sir!” the boy skittishly bowed. “The Sultan should be inside the palace with the Sultana and their daughter for midday lessons. I can show you inside, if you’d like?”

He shook his head. “That’s alright. I know my way about the palace. Thank you for your help.”

The squire bowed again and went back to clearing up some tools lying about. Sora continued onward, Solari’s hand still in his own. 

Once past the guards at the door, his student gently tugged on his arm. Sora looked down to see her curious gaze on him.

“Uhm… how do you know the… S- _ Sul _ tan?” She struggled to remember the correct word. “I don’t r-remember that story.”

Sora pouted thoughtfully. “Really? I could’ve sworn I told you two about it…”

He happily recounted some tales as they made their way through the palace. By now, practically every guard knew who he was and didn’t bother questioning his purpose. Aladdin had been sure to let all of them know that Sora was to be trusted and had free reign all around Agrabah. It came in handy when he was chasing down sneaky Heartless all through the halls.

Just as Sora was about to tell the grand tale of genie Jafar, they heard the sounds of a scuffle ahead. He froze for a moment before realizing that the voices weren’t in distress or hurt. Releasing a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, he ushered Solari onward gently. She seemed unsure at first before cautiously walking forward. 

“Come on, Zena! Put your back into it!” A familiar voice goaded. Sora couldn’t stop a grin from spreading over his face.

He jogged around the corner and spotted just the people he was looking for. Aladdin, toy scimitar in hand, was in the middle of sparring with a young girl. To the side, a certain Sultana was watching with a smile on her face. The courtyard they were in had an assortment of plants that filtered sunlight around them.

Aladdin didn’t notice him at first. He dodged a clumsy strike from his daughter before lashing out with a soft tap. Zena growled angrily and swiped at him- an attack he easily slipped by.

“Come on, kiddo! You gotta predict where your enemy is gonna move.” Aladdin said.

“And keep your feet planted,” Sora called. “Or else you can get knocked over.”

All three of the residents looked over at them. Aladdin’s face lit up like the sun, and he instantly forgot about his mock duel. Jasmine stood and clapped her hands joyfully, while the princess didn’t seem to recognize him.

Aladdin stepped forward, arms wide. “Sora! What are you doing here?”

Sora met him halfway for a long hug. His friend nearly squeezed the life out of him, making breathing a little difficult. He tried to reciprocate but was fiercely outmatched.

“Just a visit,” Sora wheezed. “I can’t stay the night, unfortunately. Just a few hours before I have to go back.”

Aladdin finally released him, allowing Sora to take in a lungful of air. The Sultan kept his hands on his shoulders, the grin never leaving his face.

“I’m happy anyways! You  _ have _ to see how Zena is coming along-!”

Finally, Aladdin saw Solari. She was hiding behind Sora, nervously fiddling with the strap of her bag and watching their interaction closely. Sora took a step back to stand next to her and set a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

“Who’s this little one?” Aladdin asked, leaning over with his hands on his knees. Jasmine stepped closer as well, reaching for Zena’s hand and smiling warmly at Solari.

Sora stood up straighter. “This is Solari, my new student! I finally got permission to take her around some worlds and figured that you two would like to meet her.”

“Right you are,” Jasmine chimed, coming to a stop next to Aladdin. “It’s an honor to meet you, miss Solari. I’m Jasmine, this is Aladdin, and our daughter, Zena.”

The young princess peered from behind her mother’s leg, shyly waving to Solari. She responded in kind, grasping as Sora’s cloak for stability.

“It- uhm, it’s an h-honor to meet you t-too.” Solari murmured, barely able to look up. 

Aladdin smiled softly. “Well, I’d be glad to show you around Agrabah. One of the animal tamers in the palace is going to have a show in a couple hours. There’s going to be an elephant doing a bunch of cool tricks.”

“Or so we’re told,” Jasmine added with a smirk. “Razam was always known for overselling things.”

“Oh!” Sora exclaimed, drawing everyone’s attention. “Speaking of animals, do you wanna meet Rajah, Soli?”

Jasmine clapped her hands together with a big smile while Solari tilted her head. The Sultana swiftly brought her fingers up and let out a piercing whistle. 

Immediately, a distant “ _ hrruff? _ ” sounded. Sora soon remembered just what type of animal Rajah was and put both hands on each of his student’s shoulders. She scooted closer behind him nervously as the shadows on the far edge of the courtyard began to shift. 

The giant tiger lumbered forth from the corner. He had a few more white hairs on his face than Sora remembered, and his eyes were a little less bright. But old or not, Rajah stood at just over a meter tall and twice as long.

Solari gasped and clutched onto Sora’s side in a terrified death grip. He brought her in for a comforting side hug with soft words of reassurement.

Zena draped her tiny self over Rajah happily, barely able to toss herself up to his back. The tiger ignored her and sniffed towards Sora as if he was trying to confirm his scent.

“Master, why d-do they have a pet  _ tiger _ ?” Solari whispered frantically.

“Soli, this is Rajah,” Sora replied calmly. “I can assure you, he’s  _ totally _ friendly. He hasn’t eaten someone in the entire time I’ve known him.”

Jasmine made a teasing sound of disagreement. Aladdin batted her arm chastisingly while Zena continued to pet the cat.

To help Solari feel more at ease, Sora stepped up and kneeled in front of Rajah. She was reluctant to let him get too far but didn’t have the courage to follow him forward. He set his hand on Rajah’s furry neck and reached out with the other. The tiger sniffed him before giving a very affectionate chuff and head bump. 

“C’mon,” Sora called gently. “He won’t hurt you. I wouldn’t let him even try.”

Solari finally seemed to realize that Sora wouldn’t suggest this if it wasn’t safe. She inched forward, hands drawn close. Once she was in range Sora softly grasped her arm and helped her with the last few steps. Rajah waited patiently the whole time and didn’t make any sudden movements.

Sora moved his hand on top of hers, slowly encouraging her to reach out. Still tense, she let him, only pausing when she was inches from meeting fur. 

Once she closed that gap, it took only a second before she relaxed and her expression shifted to awe. Her eyes sparkled as she stroked the thick fluff on Rajah’s cheek (who was clearly enjoying the attention).

“He’s soft,” she breathed, voice filled with wonder.

Sora couldn’t help his delighted grin. He hummed in agreement, reaching forward to run his fingers through Rajah’s mane. If it was ten times more luxurious, he could’ve mistaken it for Simba’s. 

Huh, Sora thought. He should take Solari to the Pride Lands someday. She loved cats. She’d have the best time there.

They spent quite a while in the palace. Solari played with Rajah (cautiously at first, but thankfully the old cat was wise enough to be gentle with children) and got a grand tour. Zena gradually warmed up to Solari and began showing her the best places to play. In response, Solari was smiling more and became less tense. Meanwhile, Sora found himself caught in pleasant conversation with the two rulers about his patrols recently. Jasmine, ever the diplomat, knew exactly what questions to ask to keep him engaged in retelling stories. It was a good way to spend the time they had before the show.

Once that hour rolled around, and they had eaten a small lunch, Aladdin and Jasmine took the two to the Square. Already some people had begun to gather as props were getting set up. A small monkey was running up the nearby buildings and expertly putting up a couple decorations. Its trainer offered tiny berries every time it came back down.

As the two Sultan approached, a man who appeared to be directing the event jogged over to ask a few questions. Sora, holding Solari’s hand so she didn’t get lost in the crowd, started looking for a place to set up and watch the show. After finding a relatively empty spot next to a building, he caught Aladdin’s attention with a wave and gestured to where they’d be staying. Once he got a nod in response he made his way over.

Sora shuffled through a group before he made it to the sandstone wall. After urging Solari along to his other side (father from the activity and thus, safer from any mishaps,) he leaned back and folded his arms. It would take a couple minutes for everything to start, after all.

He felt his student scooch closer to his side. A glance revealed the nervous looks she was giving the growing crowd. Unthinkingly he pulled her close so she could grasp his cape.

“You excited?” Sora asked. 

Solari nodded. “I hope th-the animals are as nice as R-Rajah was.”

“Oh, they are,” Sora began. “I remember, in one of my earlier visits, when I took my first tour of the castle. I got to meet all of the royal pets. They have an awesome elephant named Miki - she’s the one coming out today - and she’s one of the nicest animals they have. When I first met her, she started poking my hair with her trunk. I was a little nervous at first, but Miki was suuuuper gentle. Of course, Rajah is still the friendliest out of all of them, but that’s because he gets to wander around the palace.”

For the next couple minutes, Sora filled the silence with idle chatter. He spoke about his other trips to Agrabah and the shenanigans that had followed. Over time, Solari looked more and more excited to explore the rest of town after the show. Particularly when Sora talked about the Peddler’s shop and all of its jewels. 

Eventually the people had gathered and the showman stood atop his platform. The two Sultans shuffled off to the side and watched eagerly.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” the demonstrator called, ending conversations with his booming voice. “Welcome, welcome, welcome! Thank you all so much for gathering here on this lovely evening!”

The man spread his arms. “Our animals have been working very hard to give you all a show today. I hope you all enjoy their performance!”

He bowed and swiftly stepped to the side. The elephant, Miki, took her cue and tromped up to the front. Her ears wiggled gleefully as the showman began to wave his baton around. 

The man began tapping his feet loudly on his platform. Miki mimicked the action, swaying and pacing in place with her ears flapping. The crowd clapped while a small band started to play.

Sora smiled softly as the square came to life. Children giggled as the monkey and elephant pranced about. The showman tossed his baton to his tiniest companion, who then began to fiddle around with it. 

This performance went on for a couple minutes. The monkey and Miki both switched the baton around as the showman jokingly pleaded for it back. Children giggled and shrieked in joy as their parents were enraptured with the performance. Even Aladdin and Jasmine were taken by the fluid dance.

Sora soaked in the happiness in the air, keeping a close eye on his student while he did. Solari was totally focused on the show beside him. Her eyes sparkled with joy and her usually hesitant smile was a full blown grin. She was hardly holding onto his hand in an attempt to get closer. He knew they’d have to work on spatial awareness after this, but for now he let her inch her way forward.

The elephant waved her trunk, completely lost in the dance. Her eyes were closed and she swayed heavily back and forth. Cheers raised even higher when she did a little spin.

_ SNAP! _

Sora didn’t see the impact. All he heard was a splintering  _ crack _ that rose over the roar of the crowd. His eyes shot up from their place over the square to see the offender.

A large pole of wood, supporting a platform hanging off of a near shop’s roof. Something to protect people from the sun at first, but now used for excess crate storage. It was precarious to begin with. Something Sora should’ve taken better note of.

A shriek rang out. Miki stopped her twirling and saw the teetering crates above. She squeaked in alarm and skittered back. More people took notice and cried out, clutching their children. Aladdin and Jasmine barked orders for everyone to stand back.

Sora was already in motion. 

Stability. He needed to keep the platform from falling. If it fell, then the barrels and crates would crush the showman underneath and roll dangerously into the crowd. The current support beam was broken in half. There was no way it would be supporting anything else. He needed something new.

His right hand shot forward. Frost flickered from his fingertips before turning into an ice storm. Crystalline spires grew forward from his feet to the broken pillar before arching upwards and encasing it all. A rush of cold air blasted across the clearing, coating everything within a ten foot radius in snow.

Sora skated forward on the thin layer of ice on the ground. He dug the metal heels of his boots to stop just underneath the now frozen hazard. He tensed, preparing to hear the creak of his temporary solution breaking apart. 

Everyone was silent for several long seconds, waiting with held breath. Sora scanned the structure he created, satisfied with the lack of cracks or shifting.

He turned to the crowd. “Everyone, move away!” he roared. “Anyone who can, move those crates from the platform! This ice won’t hold forever!”

Mothers ushered their children away from the danger zone. Aladdin rushed forward (along with a few brave others) and deftly climbed the side of the building. The showman, covered in a layer of frost, picked up his shivering monkey and ran after the long fled elephant.

Sora eyed the pillars and cast another blizzaga to reinforce it. Once he deemed it sturdy enough, he ran over to the shop and swiftly climbed its walls. On the roof he found four other people, including Aladdin, already lifting and moving crates onto the rest of the piles behind them. 

With Sora’s unnatural strength and speed and four other hands, the dozen or so crates were deposited onto a more solid surface within a couple minutes. Once done, they all moved back to solid ground.

As soon as Sora’s feet hit the floor, there was an old man snatching his hand and furiously shaking it. It took more willpower than Sora would like to admit to withhold a yelp of shock.

“Young man, that was amazing!” the man said with a wide smile. “You’re that Sora boy, aren’t you? The one that visits with the Sultans?”

Sora nodded nervously. “Uh, y-yeah, I am!”

“I thought I recognized you! You saved us from that awful Jafar some years back! Not to mention all of those terrible monsters that show up. Looks like you’re quite the hero, boy.”

“Heavens! I  _ knew _ it was you!” A woman chimed. Sora turned his head from the aggressive handshake he was still a part of to see a spectator walk up. “I never got to thank you for saving me from those creatures a few weeks ago.”

“It-it was nothing, ma’am,” Sora stuttered. “Just doing my job.”

Before he knew it, more people came up to  _ personally _ thank him for his heroic deed. He awkwardly accepted the praise, trying to wiggle his way out of multiple handshakes and the occasional hug from kids (which, to be honest, he didn’t mind that much). Heck, even the showman came up with a guilty elephant in tow to thank him for saving everyone.

It was only when Sora did his routine scan of the area did he notice something wrong.

Solari wasn’t where he left her.

Never in his life did Sora think his blood could run this cold.

He scanned again. There was no head on blonde hair. Not even in corners or secluded areas. No set of bright blue eyes watched him get swarmed by thankful civilians. 

His heart dropped into his gut and sent adrenaline pumping through his veins. He pushed past everyone crowding him. There were too many people- why didn’t he notice how many people there were? Solari is terrified of crowds he should have  _ known _ -

“Solari?” he called, hoping that the sound of her name over the cacophony of voices would draw her from the shadows. “Soli, where are you?!”

Jasmine clapped her hands, drawing the attention of bystanders. Sora filtered out what she was saying (probably something to calm everyone down) to keep searching for his student.

Sora walked forward, head darting around. He couldn’t sense her Light anywhere nearby. She must’ve been swept up by the crowd in the panic. Maybe someone thought she was their child and ran off before checking or maybe she got trampled or pulled or yanked-

“Sora, hey, what’s wrong?” a familiar hand clasped his shoulder. Sora grabbed at it instinctively before realizing that he shouldn’t judo-throw Aladdin.

“Solari,” Sora responded, releasing his death-grip on his friend’s wrist. For what it was worth, Aladdin didn’t seem too angry about it.

“What’s happened?” Aladdin asked, his voice steady in the midst of Sora’s racing mind.

“I can’t  _ find her _ .”

The grip on his shoulder tightened, trying to help ground his panic. “Okay. We already have guards out trying to calm everyone who ran off. I’m sure that they’ll find her. But we can go look, too.”

“No, you and Jasmine have to deal with things here. I just-I have to find her. I’ll be back.”

Before Aladdin could respond, Sora was darting off. He pushed past everyone in his way until he broke out of the crowd. 

Sora didn’t stay on the ground. He leapt up the side of a nearby building, planting his foot on the protruding window sill. He easily jumped to the second-floor ledge and hauled his way to the roof. 

Without the shadows of buildings and tarps overhead, the sun beat down on his skin mercilessly. Sweat formed over his brow within seconds and his cape suddenly felt like overkill.

But that didn’t matter, because the heat was just a discomfort. He could withstand it for as long as he needed to ( _ it’s not like it’s the first time _ ). But Solari wasn’t used to extreme temperatures, and if she was lost or stuck then she could overheat and faint and if Sora didn’t find her in time she could  _ die _ -

_ Child, you need to be calm. _ A chiming voice interrupted his downward spiral.  _ You will find her. Expand your senses to the city around. _

Sora took a deep breath, reigning his nerves back under control. Panicking wouldn’t help the situation. 

He sunk down, cross-legged and upright. He flicked his hood over his head to block the worst of the sun’s rays. 

He shut out the outside world, honing in on the glimmers behind his eyelids. At first, all he could feel was his own Light, blazing with anxiety and crackling out like lightning in a cloud. He winced at its disorganized clamour and smoothed down the harsh edges before turning his attention back outwards. 

Focusing for a moment, he began to sense small sparkles of life on the streets below. Hearts of the general public, milling about and congregating behind him at the square. The group of Lights was like a lantern next to fireflies. A unified beacon that could draw in a lot of darkness if it stayed.

Sora ignored its glare and kept looking. He knew Solari’s Light like the back of his hand. A smaller fire blazing on a torch. Untamed and with potential to become a brilliant sun. 

He searched for that Light desperately. At first he swept his metaphorical gaze over everything within a couple hundred-foot radius before picking at every glimmer he could. Anything that even remotely looked like his little flame, he double-checked just to make sure.

But he couldn’t just pry at every flicker he saw. Seeing in this manner was taxing on one’s mind. Especially when trying to find a specific heart among hundreds. Hundreds of fireflies, gathered and pacing and muttering, their “voices” like white noise in his mind, only growing louder the closer they got. It was painful to listen to for such a prolonged time. It grated on his ears and blanketed a stinging static over his thoughts. One that only grew heavier and pricklier with every second he had his eyes closed.

Sora tried to block it out. But there was something  _ wrong _ with his vision. It wasn’t clear, wasn’t as neat as it usually was. Darkness tainted the edges of it and made it hard to catch some flickers before they flitted away. He didn’t know if it was Heartless lurking or just general fuzz. The thought of it being the former made his pulse pound even quicker and a familiar bile rise to the back of his throat.

He dug around even more, now trying to prod at any darkness he could find to make sure it wasn’t a danger. But with everything unusual he tried to hone in on, the pain intensified until his head was pounding. It was harder to keep his eyes closed when the skin around them began to ache. A sharp stab pulsed just above his brow. It was getting harder to breathe - to focus around the pain. The heat of the sun was a physical weight on his shoulders that just kept growing and growing until he couldn’t even sit upright.

Kingdom Key yanked him out of that state before he was drowned by it. Sora heaved a lungful of dry air, doubling over and clutching his head. His eyes were blazed by heat and burned like they had been open for too long.

_ Child… _ King growled, its voice brimming with disapproval.

“I can’t find her,” Sora gasped, sweat trailing down his face in streams. “It-it’s too crowded, too fuzzy- I can’t find her. She should  _ be _ here, she couldn’t have gotten far-!”

_ I know. Let us search, then. I will lend you my eyes. _

Sora felt a gentle pressure encase him in an embrace. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a brief moment. In that spit-second of darkness, he could still see flickering lights and dark shadows as if they were burned into the back of his eyelids.

He stood on shaky legs and gazed over Agrabah. The throbbing in his head gave way to a numbing warmth. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would work for a while. Just long enough for him to find Solari. 

Without further delay, he leapt into the city below.

…

It took a terrifying amount of time for Sora to find her. He searched (literally) high and low, with no sign of her. Not even footprints in the sandy streets with the distinct sunburst design Sora knew was on the bottom of her shoes.

After five minutes, he asked around. “ _ Have you seen a girl with golden hair? _ ” The first several people hadn’t been of any help. One had even given him a toothy grin and asked: “How much would you pay if I had?”

(It had taken far more self-control than Sora would like to admit to refrain from hitting him.)

He continued his search without much luck. Since he couldn’t use his “Light Vision” as freely as normal, it made the whole thing exceedingly difficult. His recklessness barely ten minutes before made his eyes burn if he gazed at anything being hit by direct sunlight; which unfortunately was ninety-percent of Agrabah. A constant headache was assaulting him, jabbing behind his eyes and making his impatience worse. He would’ve regret the previous overuse if he could’ve actually sensed anything. 

It worried him. The lack of any glimmer or light anywhere within the city. It hadn't been a fog or anything like that. Every other heart around him had been clear and totally normal. But there was no sign of Solari's Light anywhere. No faint trail or presence he could use to send him in the right direction. The chance of her being too far away were slim at best, considering he had only lost sight of her for a couple minutes. There was no way she could've found her way out of the city by then.

Which led to a couple of options - none being ideal. The first was that she somehow found a way to stifle her own Light. This could've been accidental. If she was scared and hiding, she could've subconsciously been shrinking herself down. If that was the case, then Sora would have to admit to being impressed. Hiding from him was difficult without proper training. Especially since he was looking so fervently.

The second option was that she was in the presence of something... dark. Something that could be blocking out her Light in some fashion. But the only way for that to be plausible is for that something to be nearly totally equal to her.

Or that something was hiding her from him on purpose.

Sora stopped that train of thought before it got out of hand. If he let himself dwell on it too much, he knew he would only panic more. Because panicking, as King would say, is the precursor to making a grave mistake.

He decided to ask around again- avoiding any suspicious figures this time. He jumped from the rooftop he had been running across and landed in a small alley. Quickly, he made his way to the nearest passerby: an aged woman with a basket of groceries in hand.

"Excuse me,” he began, grabbing her attention, “have you seen a little girl around here? About yay high-” he raised his hand just underneath his ribs “-blonde hair, yellow clothes?”

The woman blinked at him curiously. “Are you her father?”

It was only through years of experience in diplomacy that Sora could keep a straight face. 

“I- ah- ahem. Y- not-not technically.” He tried desperately to calm his thumping heart and keep a blush from making its way to his cheeks. “You see I’m her-her teacher. I lost her in the festivities at the town square a few minutes ago.”

Blissfully unaware of Sora’s internal screaming and Kingdom Key’s subsequent chuckling, the woman pointed towards a street going towards the shopping district. 

“I saw her and a young lad head that way not too long ago, I think.”

Sora froze in place. King went silent - its presence sharpening as if it were narrowing its eyes. 

Something in his expression must’ve darkened, because the woman took a nervous step back. “He-he was a young boy, wearing black. I couldn’t see his face ‘cause of his hood.”

He took a deep breath, steeling the adrenaline that began to course through him. Every muscle in his body was tensed up. When he spoke, it was through clenched teeth and a carefully schooled tone.

“Was there anything else about him?” Sora asked. A dark feeling began to worm its way into his gut. He tried to ignore it, because he knew that the second he gave into it, he would come up with crazy theories that had very little chance of being true.

“Well he was rather rude. Shoved right on past me without a word. That girl of yours at least apologized for being in such a rush. Shame she would be with such a bad example. I can’t imagine how it must feel- finding out your child is with someone so...  _ sketchy _ .”

A hot, angry fire burned through Sora’s viens. He knew that if he lingered, the woman would go on about the boy and make his anxiety even worse. 

He grumbled out a thanks, swiftly moving in the direction the woman had gestured in. He could feel her offended stare as he strode off, but honestly, he couldn’t care less. The need to find his student was stronger than ever. She was with some  _ stranger _ now- one he didn’t know. One that could possibly be from another world. If that was the case then the boy could be dangerous.

_ Child, focus.  _ King called.  _ You can find her. We’re close, now. _

Sora walked faster. Anyone in his path skittered to the edge of the road, backs pressed against buildings to avoid the murderous glint in his eyes. He didn’t care to smile reassuringly, because he was sure it would look more like a snarl than anything else.

He wove into another shaded area and scaled up the wall. With his hood protecting him from the sun, he ran across the roofs and scanned the streets below with renewed vigor. Gently, to avoid agitating his sore eyes, he prodded at the Light around him again. 

Sora leapt across a small street and clung to a sconce on the side of a taller structure. He scrambled up the side like a monkey, swinging his arm up and grabbing onto the next ledge. Scaling the side took only a couple seconds, and he was running again in no time.

Meanwhile he desperately searched for a glimmer that could indicate Solari’s presence. If he had to, he would rip up every corner of Agrabah until she was found. Aladdin wouldn’t be happy, but that didn’t matter, because he  _ needed _ to find her. She was his responsibility, and if he lost her on their first outing, no one would ever forgive him. And more importantly, he would never forgive himself.

Just before he spiraled into another panic, he felt it. A blanket falling away somewhere nearby, revealing that glimmering flame he had been searching for.

Sora stopped dead in his tracks. His heart pounded like a drum in his chest, rushing a fresh batch of adrenaline through his veins.

A second later he was bolting towards it. He jumped from a rooftop and landed in a roll on a small street. He didn’t know where it was or what it led to- just that Solari was at the end. That alone spurred him to run even faster. He could feel that light growing brighter with every step. He followed it closer and closer until-

Just around the corner, he saw her. Sitting on a small crate and staring at her hands. She looked up when he came into view- her face shifting from alarm to relief.

Sora’s mind went into overdrive. In less than a second he scanned her for injuries. No blood, cuts, or bruises- other than a few smudges of dirt she was completely fine. 

He rushed forward. “Solari!” he cried, relief flooding him. Without hesitation he wrapped her up in his arms, squeezing tight and vowing to never let go. He felt her return the embrace, despite being held a few inches above the ground.

“I’ve been looking  _ everywhere _ for you!” Sora said. “You disappeared after the accident and I was  _ so worried! _ ”

“I was looking for  _ you _ !” Solari replied, voice muffled by his shirt. “Everyone st-started panicking really quick. Th- I got dragged away by a lot of peopl-people. I was so lost and-and scared and I couldn’t  _ find you _ -!”

He ran his hand over the back of her head, shushing her softly. “It’s okay, I’m here now. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

That was an issue Sora found he was having. He wasn’t used to  _ looking after _ someone. He knew how to work on a team. Heck, being around Riku and Kairi so much had nearly driven him to  _ rely _ on teammates. The only real issue that came from that kind of practice was that he was used to teammates who could, well,  _ take care _ of themselves. Solari was too young and inexperienced to have his back. She didn’t know how to do subtle cues in the midst of battle to alert her allies to where she was. Sora had become far too used to that kind of silent communication, and that was why they had gotten into this mess.

He finally let her go and kneeled in front of her to be closer to head-height. He gently grasped her face in his hands, scanning her face for any sign of injury he might’ve missed.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Sora asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Solari nodded, tears in her eyes. He ran a hand over her hair, fighting the urge to hug her again.

Sora pushed aside the warmth in his chest for a moment. “I asked around, and heard you were with someone. Where are they?”

Solari perked up a bit. “Oh! Af-after I got lost, a boy found me. He was really nice and-and said he knew his way around town. Th-that I had gotten to a dangerous district.”

Briefly, Sora went over his mental map of Agrabah. Ah, yes- an area near the border of the city. It had been struggling to grow, as it was fairly new, and a recent nightly raid from the local bandit group had left it staggering. Normally the city would be walled up, but after what happened five years ago…. Well, safe to say, a lot of worlds were still recovering.

“What was this boy like?” Sora asked.

Solari thought for a moment. “Well, he-he wore a hood. I couldn’t see his face very well. But he was v-very nice. I was panicking real-really bad and he, uhm, helped me calm down.”

Sora nodded, filing away the vague description he had so far in the back of his mind. “Did he say what his name was? If he was from here?’

She shook her head. “I, uhm, wanted to ask, but there-there was a lot going on…” she began to fiddle with her hair.

He moved a hand to her shoulder, recapturing her attention. He smiled softly, letting that relief come back to his expression. Solari brightened considerably and smiled right back.

“It’s okay now,” Sora said. “We’re really going to have to get you that phone soon. I think I’ll have to get some materials for Cid myself, really. But!” he poked her nose, causing her to snort indignantly. “Next time, try to keep yourself separated from the crowd. I don’t want to hear you’ve run off with some boy again next time we’re out, alright? I won’t have any student of  _ mine _ hanging out with the wrong kids.”

Solari’s cheeks lit pink. “M-Sir! It wasn’t like th- _ that _ !”

“Oh I know  _ aaaaaaaaallll _ about you kids and your shenanigans! You’re not allowed to date until you’re out of the house, you hear?!”

“ _ Sir! _ ”

He laughed as she blushed furiously, muttering about how she doesn’t even know his name. Sora stood and patted her shoulder, holding out his hand expectantly. With minimal embarrassment she took it (a good sign, he thought) and followed as he led them back towards the palace.

Sora spoke about how they should let Aladdin and Jasmine know she was okay, but his mind was elsewhere. He thought about the descriptions of the strange boy in black. How he couldn’t have been from Agrabah due to how out of place he would have been. How Solari had been hidden until the last moment, as if someone had moved away. 

As they walked away, he thought about the pair of eyes that he could feel staring right at his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO HECKIN SORRY I TOOK SO LONG. I HAD TO MOVE HOUSE AND ALL THESE HTHINGS AND I made this chapter longer as an apology

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!! this is my first fic on AO3 and I'm lowkey terrified. But I swear this isn't going to be too bad because I nitpick the crap out of my own work all the time. I'll (hopefully) update regularly and might add some art at the end of the fics for reference.  
> I have a Tumblr (https://midlstrit.tumblr.com/) if anyone wants to find me there!


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